Gun Bunny
by Selector
Summary: Taylor got a different power. And a different outlook. This was in my plot bunny file but I write in it occasionally. It may continue past the first five chapters but it will be hit or miss at best. Updates weekly for the first five.
1. Chapter 1

Gun Bunny 1

People say shit. Hulking, rusty, skeletons of the boat graveyard. Yeah, ships that were too deep draft to get out of the harbor after a bunch of drunken, enraged, socialist, fucks, sunk an offloaded oil tanker that had been in the bay for minor repairs, across the mouth of the bay. It had been cheaper to unload them and abandon them than dig a new channel or clear the old one. So that is what the insurance companies did. Oh they emptied them of goods, oil, parts, anything that could be scrapped, and left the hollowed out hulks. Capitalism, yay.

Most ships came to America bringing raw material, well oil, some expensive shit they didn't have, cheap finished goods and leaving mostly empty back in the days of the riots, maybe the bulk cargo carriers didn't, but the rest? A little high-end cargo, or maybe like steel rolls and structural steel, shipping on the East Coast was in a perilous decline at the time anyhow. Everywhere really. It had been the transition from break bulk to intermodal freight. A hundred stevedores or one guy and a crane. It didn't take the Rain Man to do that math. And then the crews and their union. It was cheaper to register your vessels elsewhere, and crew them with second or third world crews for slave wages.

Oil of course, but the supertankers hooked up to buoys miles offshore, and Brockton Bay didn't have refineries. Well, one old one that was on its last legs in the seventies or eighties. Anyway, powerful unions and an out of control bureaucracy drove the ships away, taking the jobs aboard with them. Then, because of the declining number of jobs and stagnant wages, well riots. Then, next to no jobs and minimum wage if you were lucky. Isn't socialism grand?

Still and all some of the robber barons, captains of the high seas, and owners of shipping lines had made the transition. Well, one. All Father. Anders. He had turned a struggling shipping line, which was doing more smuggling than shipping, into a major Pharmaceutical company. Well, since he was already in the drug trade from his smuggling, it wasn't too much of a leap was it? Still kudos. Unfortunately, he was a neo Nazi bastard who triggered late in life, or, he was old enough, he might have been a straight up Nazi. It isn't like the Nazi party didn't exist in America. Its American branch was headquartered in Andover, New Jersey for god's sake. Or had a camp there, yeah it was a camp. The German American Bund, that was it. They had some camps in Pennsylvania and New York too. Well until the Second World War. Then his neo Nazi bastard children trigger. The daughter, Iron Rain, a true bitch, got whacked, but the son, Kaiser, inherited the Empire, literally Empire 88. Fucking Nazi's. Max Anders ran Medhall, like everyone didn't know he was Kaiser.

Rotten steel. Steel doesn't rot. If left unmaintained in a salt water environment it corrodes through oxidation. Let's be real. Now it had been enough years with enough storms that the oxidation had had enough time to work. A ship a week slipped beneath the waves making the whole mess even worse. Remnant fuel oil spreading it's sheen across the bay.

Brockton Bay wasn't dying, it was dead, and that sheen was the decomposition products. Taylor snorted. "Yeah, let's be real." She tossed another flake of rust like a stone, smiling grimly as it skipped four good hops then a million little ones curving to the right before plunging out of sight.

"Skin the color of warm coffee. Yeah, if you like your coffee black and bitter. What the fuck is wrong with Emma? How did I miss her going gay? Figures, all that shit she talked, any idiot could see she wasn't really watching the boys, just imposing some kind of media driven dream on them. Smelly things that they are. Bad manners and bad hygiene. Still, once you go black I guess. Hess does have a tight ass and nice tits though. Gah! I've been infected by the media!" Taylor looked around "Talking to yourself Taylor, nice."

Taylor looked around and manifested a weapon. She snorted at the Browning pump action twenty-two caliber rifle. It was a great little gun, and really it only took seventy-four foot pounds of energy and good shot placement to kill a man with a head shot, mob hit guys used twenty two caliber revolvers a lot allegedly, so it was more than enough. Nothing on what she could manifest and control in a fight when she was ramping though. That seventy five millimeter M116 on the M1 carriage had freaked those Merchants right out. "Me too really. That almost finished me off and had me piss myself." Taylor settled into the swaybacked arm supported position naturally and worked through twenty flying water rats, seagulls, on the wing before she let the gun go and the Gerber mark two appeared on her hip.

"Still at it huh?" Taylor leapt in the air, spun around, and landed in a crouch with a 1911A1 in both hands. The girl behind her stepped the rest of the way down from the door shaped hole in the universe laughing. "So, my stealth shit works then."

"Fuck Sherrel!" Taylor glared at the girl, young woman rather.

Sherrel grinned, then sobered "Still got man trouble Hon?"

Taylor rolled her eyes "My father isn't Skidmark and, and, well." She crossed her now empty arms under her breast as the Gerber reappeared on her hip.

Sherrel snorted "Skidmark isn't Skidmark anymore, since you blew his balls off. Tough fucker, looks like he is going to live though. Maybe, it's taking a while. So, we got a Nazi incursion. Want to help again?"

Taylor sighed "You would think the idiots would learn."

Sherrel shrugged "I think they can't tolerate a gang led by a woman, especially a race traitor woman."

Taylor nodded "Even though you have cleaned the Merchants up."

Sherrel shrugged "Me and the girls, but OK. The ABB are prepping again too."

Taylor smiled "Lung comes out I might finally get to fly."

"A10 or C130? You and the howitzer, I am betting C130 gunship." Sherrel moved back toward the armored truck she had climbed out of.

Taylor shrugged "Either or would be nice."

Sherrel shook her head "Your power is bullshit. If you hadn't manifested that S tank. I wouldn't believe it, or that you know how to work the damn things."

Taylor smiled as she climbed in the truck and shut the door "I only held it for a few minutes and then slept for two days."

Sherrel laughed "After eating a challenger. Then you got up and ate another one. Bob is going to bar you."

Taylor sighed "I know, and I made so much money on the betting. There are other all you can eats in town though. I could wreck a golden corral."

Sherrel laughed and started the truck. Taylor returned to her thoughts. Some people would wax poetic about what she had done, to over a hundred gangers, to Skidmark, Hookwolf, Oni Lee. Especially Hookwolf. The bright, pure white, fire as it burned its way out of him and the stinking clouds of burning smoke would inspire them. Hell, some had on PHO.

That was the second time she had manifested the pack howitzer and its spindly wheels. Nobody on PHO had said how rickety it looked though. Even that hadn't killed Hookwolf. He hadn't appeared since, but he had been taken into custody alive, neither had his body been identified out of custody. Oni Lee wouldn't stop. Maybe he thought she had to run out of ammo. She hadn't. Yeah there was nothing poetic about burning guts and ruptured corpses leaking gross shit in the gutter.

Hey, bright side, recruiting for the gangs was way down and the wearing of colors was verboten. Hehehe.

People also didn't know fuck about weapons. Not just the stupid, cunt hole, liberal, reporters calling self-propelled howitzers tanks, what else could you expect from all that money wasted by their parents on college where their liberal professors blotted free thought from their minds, and replaced it with socialism? What else was post-secondary education in anything other than a trade or hard science for if not to shape minds? No, the bangers too. One had told her an AR 15 was .308. Any dick knew that was an AR 10. An AR 15 was 5.56 NATO. A compromise cartridge, which had managed the test of time, oddly enough. Millions of dollars of Defense Department research not wasted after all. For once. She had shot him with one of each, once in each lung, so he would know the difference.

So, people said shit and didn't know shit. Same shit different day then. She frowned, she might have hung around Sherrel when she was drying out too much. Picked up some really colorful language.

Taylor stood up, flipping the hatch out of the way and grabbed the spade grips of the M134 that formed in the convenient pintle on the ring mount. She leaned back and twisted at the waist, slewing the ring mount around, and spun up the barrels. Tapping the trigger for less than a half a second spun up the feeder delinker and sent fifty rounds scything through the crowd of Nazis and put the rest to flight. Thankfully Taylors M134 wasn't as touchy about ammo as the real ones. Or her power made good ammo for it, one of the two. She would have to keep one manifested long enough to turn real and try it out. One way her power was different from Miss Militia's, maybe. If she kept a weapon manifested it turned real.

She had a basement full of pistols and assault weapons, and Sherrel's girls were armed to the teeth now. Everyone got a Gerber Mark II with a near monomolecular edge. Things would cut nearly anything. Kept the male Merchants honest. Well after the girls trained up with hard rubber Gerbers. Sherrel took off after the fleeing Nazi's and Taylor demolished their vehicles one by one.

Taylor grinned viciously as Rune sailed into view on a concrete slab. Taylor started demolishing it and whatever Rune threw at them until the Empire cape screamed in rage and fled.

Sherrel completed a slow circuit of her territory and things settled again. "You good Tay?"

Taylor nodded and let the M134 fade as she ducked inside the truck and closed the hatch. "Yeah, real good."

Sherrel grinned "Pervert, getting girl boners from cordite." Taylor smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

Gun Bunny 2

Sherrel watched Taylor and shook her head. It had been months now. Officially, they were into the second month since Tay had torn the ass out of the Merchants. Literally in some cases. The girl still hadn't told her father.

Sherrel leaned back in the seat and sighed. Fucking Panacea. Broke her addiction, cleaned her up and then, just to be a little bitch, made her allergic to drugs. Fucking nice work though. Her tits had that perfect amount of sag. E cups didn't naturally sit up with perfect underboob going on after all. Her nipples were perfectly placed now too. Taking them down from an F was a fair trade. Plus, with nearly all of her body fat eliminated, or used in the process of cleaning her up Panacea said, they fit her better. Matched her thirty-six hips. They also swung perfect and gave side boob shots that made motherfuckers cream themselves. Panacea had an eye. Lesbian eye for a hot bitch.

Sherrel giggled. Taylor was coming along too. Tall, lean, fit, coming into her face and her boobs were coming on too. She would need a bra instead of those cami's she was wearing now. Fine for A's, not for B's. If she stopped at a C nearly D she would be perfect. Legs for days and mouthwatering tits. She was going to be gorgeous. That hair as well. Plus, that intensity and those green eyes. Too bad she was six years younger. Sherrel would have to find her a boy or girlfriend for a few years before she could take a shot at her.

The radio squawked, Sherrel sighed and flipped the vanity mirror closed. ABB making their move. Where was Taylor? Fuck how did she get all the way out there? Oh well, here she comes. This ride had a turret. Taylor could do a chain gun.

Gun Bunny

Panacea glared at the tall girl "Fine. She climbed in the back of the tank thing and went to work on the blond. She glanced at the honey blond hair of the girl, oops, woman, in the driver's seat then down at the patient. She sighed and took her hand. Good thing this one had some body fat. Not like the girl who had dragged her off the boardwalk while Glory Girl was off with the wards doing security for the fight in the boat graveyard. She, the patient, was burnt badly. Plus, the broken bones and blood loss. The Panacea diet plan it was then.

She shifted her attention to the three blackened lumps once she was done with the girl, who looked familiar, and healed them too. They turned out to be dogs. Dogs in crispy fried meat suits? She arched a brow looking at the brunette.

Taylor sighed "I was helping Sherrel with what we thought was an ABB incursion in the docks. It was really the ABB fighting the Undersiders." She shrugged.

Panacea frowned "Sherrel? Squealer!"

Sherrel came back into the crew compartment "Yeah. Taylor helps me out since she worked over the boys. The heart kind of went out of Skidmark when she blew his balls off. Plus, with me not on his tinker tech shit, I lost interest in him. Thanks for that by the way. And the cleanup. You got an eye girl! So, me and the girls have cleaned up the Merchant's act. Skidmark and Mush took the hardcore Merchants and started their own group, but we keep them pretty much in check. You treat the girls for OD's and make them allergic, we pick them up, give them somewhere to go. Link the ones that want back up with their relatives if we can. We run mostly weed and some pharmaceutical shit, for people with prescriptions but not much money. We have some connections after all. Skiddy had a hell of a network. A couple of brothels, some of the girls like that work. Some of the boys too. Rubbers are required. Still, how would you feel about a retainer? Sometimes clients, or the girls, get a little rough.

"Taylor fucks up the hardcore Merchants trying to addict people by force. She has a thing about it."

Taylor grumbled "Fuckers, tried that with me." Sherrel patted her on the back.

Panacea blinked "What?" She looked at the blond sitting up on the troop seat. "Hellhound!"

"Bitch!"

Taylor gasped "You're awake!"

Panacea was still trying to figure out if the girl she had just healed had called her a bitch or that was her name? Bitch, really? Who calls themselves Bitch?

The blond looked around and saw the dogs. She moved to the floor and started checking them. "Tattletale, Grue and Regent?" she asked.

The light dawned. She had heard Hellhound liked to be called Bitch. Hey, you try being drug away by a hot girl, healing a crispy critter back to human, three back to dogs as well and meeting Squealer, who was a no shit supervillain. Panacea shook her head to get her focus back and started listening again.

Sherrel shrugged "They were running while you and the dogs were fighting. Taylor put fifteen rounds of twenty-five mike mike HE in Lung before he stopped."

Taylor nodded "Some of that was AP too. I was thinking about a TOW for a minute. Trying to keep the body count down though. About a thousand rounds of 7.62 coax in the rest of the ABB too. They should live, mostly. We had to break contact then. That crazy bomb tinker showed up and I had to put a burst in her to get her to back off."

Panacea sighed "Maybe because that AP is DU? More work for me."

Taylor shrugged "Maybe, don't know really never took a round apart and tested it or anything. Let them heal the hard way. The PRT has them. They weren't dead. Well, some of the bangers maybe, but Lung was regenerating, it's kind of gross, and slow, yeah maybe DU, and Bakuda was thrashing and screaming so she wasn't hit that hard. Kind of a snap shot. Two in the body, one in the right hip, one in the left shoulder, looked like a flyer grazed her head along the jaw, probably a tracer, they fly high. Had to take her and her fucking grenade launcher out of the fight."

Bitch grunted "They left me."

Taylor shrugged "You can stay at my house." Sherrel concealed her glee. Taylor was looking at Bitch like she was money from home. Fuck if she wasn't too. Goddamn Panacea did good work. Bitch was like a body builder. Maybe a MMA fighter. Thick, big thighs, abs without end and maybe a C cup on a nice chest and broad shoulders. Baby got back too! Oh my gawd! She was cute, in a butch, angular faced, kind of way, too. Blue eyes! Fucking yum yum.

Panacea cleared her throat "I know what you all look like."

Sherrel snorted "Turn us in if you want. I got lots of these now. Took all my old ones and put time where I wasn't high in them. A better category of scrap too. Taylor has contacts in the DWU. Taylor can't turn off her power and Miss Militia is her spirit guide or something.

"Except her weapons are all lethal. Getting bigger too. Mostly direct fire, even that pack howitzer.

"I bet Bitch can do more than dogs.

"Meanwhile I am cleaning up the Merchants, well with your help, good idea that allergic to drugs thing by the way. You have to tell us how the fuck you did that.

"We are taking territory from the ABB, and will shut down their brothels unless those girls want to do that.

"Taylor doesn't mess with normal people, she just shoots bangers. I bet Bitch will help her out. All you would do is make more work for the Protectorate and your family."

"Besides which, they aren't bothering us now. It's not like the Troops don't know where the brothels are, and who runs them."

Panacea processed all that, nodded, then made an impulsive decision "Amy Dallon. I want in." Sherrel laughed and got back in the driver's seat, putting the ramp up.

Bitch looked up from her dogs "Whatever." Conversation was over at that point as Sherrel fired the 903T up. That thing was turned up to a thousand horsepower, Tinked up maybe, between the jet engine roar of the giant twin turbo chargers and the straight pipe exhaust you needed double ear protection in the infantry compartment. You couldn't even hear the poor transmission howling. Of course, Sherrel had tinked it too. The whole thing had started as a hulk with a hole in the engine compartment and the interior burned. Taylor pointed out the vision blocks and got in the turret. Panacea pouted a bit as Bitch climbed in it after her. Then the dogs started licking her. The little white one was shaking and whining. Panacea shut off all their hearing.

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at the Blond and the dogs in the living room. As he stood frozen, watching, Taylor came in with a plate and a glass. The blond got up and sat nearly in Taylors lap on the Sofa.

Danny blinked "Ah, Taylor?"

"Oh, hey dad. Dad, Rachel Lindt. Rachel, Dad, Danny Hebert."

Danny nodded and went to the kitchen. He returned with his own glass and sat in his recliner. The dogs padded over and sniffed him. The smaller white one leapt up in his lap, circled twice and lay down. Rachel and Taylor were watching and Taylor was beaming a smile at him. "I found them. Panacea fixed them all and said they are good to go. Can I keep them?"

Later, at dinner Danny asked "So you are a parahuman. You make weapons. Your cape name is Gun Bunny,"

Taylor interrupted "Yeah cause check these out!" She stuck out her chest.

Danny groaned "It's not like your mother didn't have breast Taylor. I've been telling you. Anyway, this is Rachel Lindt, aka Bitch, aka Hellhound. A class A threat parahuman, who is wanted for murder." Taylor gaped at him. He snorted "Dock workers Taylor. We have to fight off parahumans, although that has gotten better lately. Mark Hauser keeps up with all the local ones and sends out briefing sheets."

"Gunny Hauser thought something was hinky with Rachel's case. Our lawyers have been messing with it when they were bored. You can probably make a fortune suing the Maine Child Services, the cops in Portland, and the PRT. Though that would be the PRT ENE so here in Brockton Bay. This could work out."

Rachel looked at him "Why?"

Danny nodded "I find work for the union. That would be work. They would charge you a fee based on how much you get, say ten maybe fifteen percent of that. Total, more if it took longer. They bill by the hour."

Rachel chewed the forkful she had taken and nodded "Oh. Fine."

Danny nodded "I'll call them. Now Taylor, you joined the Merchants. Also, you are rising to an A class threat. So far not, as your body count is all gangers and villains, it's all self-defense or defense of others. Plus, nice work on Oni Lee and Hookwolf, by the way. That keeps those gangs balanced. And will have bought you some leeway with the PRT."

"What! No?"

"So, you are a mercenary then?" Danny arched a brow.

Taylor sighed "I help Squealer out. I kind of blew Skidmark's balls off. The Empire and the ABB were muscling in on them and they aren't nice people. Panacea has started making people allergic to drugs. Sherrel has them selling weed and pharmaceuticals she gets from Mexico, or somewhere, now. She sells those to people who have prescriptions. Two of the girls in her crew are pharmacist, at least one is a nurse. And her brothels only have people that want to work there. Not people working to get paid in drugs. Or people who were trafficked. She is getting a handle on the Merchants. Not like we will ever get rid of drugs, right?"

Danny nodded "So Rachel joined your gang, you are affiliates of the Lady Merchants. Gunny has started keeping separate books on them. He thought at first it might be a new gang."

Rachel swallowed "Panacea." Taylor shot her a look and she shrugged.

Taylor sighed "Panacea might want to join Rachel and I."

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll talk to Kurt. We will find you a lair down in the docks. Those United Fruit Company buildings maybe. They have been empty for fifty years. Too expensive to tear down. Things are built like ancient Rome."

"Hey! A base, not a lair. Villains have lairs. Not everything is gangs either."

Danny gave her a flat look "Whatever, there is a clinic building too. Panacea can work there, we can get her some admin staff to do the paperwork. Medicare and the State will pay. Maybe some nurses too. Orderlies, cleaning staff, medical maintenance staff, medical technicians. Yes, this could work out. Got to be forty or fifty jobs here. And if Squealer can get meds cheap, that just makes it better for everyone. Licenses! Some semi-retired doctors maybe. Security people for the pharmacy." Taylor pouted as Danny mumbled and wrote in a notebook. She hopped up and did the dishes. Rachel helped.


	3. Chapter 3

Gun Bunny 3

Taylor got up in the morning went for her run. Rachel and the dogs followed silently. Well, after she dug out her biggest sweats and a hoody for Rachel. Rachel stripped right there, Taylor blushed furiously as all she had on was a pair of boy shorts. She blushed more remembering Rachel slept like that. In her bed. Spooned to her back. Rachel put on the sports bra Taylor tossed her, the sweats, and they ran. The dogs did their business along the way and Rachel picked it up in a plastic bag and carried it in the hoodie pocket.

They arrived back home and Danny drove up as Taylor showed Rachel cool down stretches. He got out of the truck and picked up a fifty-pound bag of dog food. Rachel hopped up and took it from him giving him a nod. Danny looked at Taylor "You are taking her shopping."

"Oh, Shopping!" Taylor and Danny spun around looking for the location of the voice and Glory Girl landed carrying Panacea. "I know just the place!"

Panacea moaned "Bitch is going to kill you Vicky."

Vicky waved her off "Everyone likes shopping."

Danny nodded "I was thinking Walmart for bras and panties, and a few things, personal hygiene stuff too, then online as she is wanted by the PRT. She doesn't have anything."

Vicky nodded "Maybe we better do it that way. Mom says that is all bullshit though. Like the Canary deal. She is filing briefs on that one."

Danny nodded "Is she really? What exactly is the deal with Canary?" Vicky was happy to fill him in.

Amy looked at the glaring Taylor "Lost control of your life huh? Parental unit is trying to run the gang."

Taylor snapped "It wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't right most of the time." She froze and shook her head. "It's not a gang." Amy laughed then pulled her toward the house the apparent Mr. Hebert and Vicky had followed Bitch, and the dogs, into.

The group was finishing breakfast, Amy had checked everyone and the dogs, Taylor and Rachel had showered as Danny and Vicky had made breakfast, when Laserdream, Crystal Pelham, knocked and walked in "Taxi anyone?"

Danny smiled after introductions, which were more prompt this time, "Good, you all can go shop and I can get on all this stuff. Taylor bring me your notebook. We can get the lawyers on Sophia Hess, Emma Barnes, and Madison Clements bullying you."

The other girls winced. Amy checked Taylor again "So that's what that was. I'll do a write up. What the fuck did they do? Put you in a bio waste bag?"

Taylor sighed "No they put the bio waste in my locker and locked me in it. That was their piece de resistance for Christmas break. They started before school even started. I should have taken the place in Arcadia but I wanted to go where my friend was going. Some friend that cunt turned out to be. Should have shot them all in the ass."

The Dallon's and Pelham winced. Vicky shook her head "We heard about that at Arcadia. No wonder you triggered. Nice going not shooting them. That's the kind of stuff mom totally freaks over."

Taylor nodded "The Merchants grabbed me first and tried to forced recruit me. I was wandering around alone and kinda freaked over Emma's shit. I got this gun and shot them all in the dick, like Tupac. Something happened in the locker. Not sure what. Anyway, I got out of it and Hess was passed out. Barnes and Clemets were right there working on her. I kicked their asses and left school. I haven't been back. Hess is a Ward too, Shadow Stalker. Barnes spilled the beans. Didn't notice me slicing the locker and stepping out. That's why I didn't go to the PRT."

Vicky shrugged "Probationary, but yeah. Only for a couple months though. Hey! Since right before Christmas break! Why that little bitch!"

Danny nodded "The Protectorate and PRT aren't looking good. Rachel, and now you."

Crystal whistled "Brandish is going to have a field day. You might have second triggered."

Amy reached over and put her hand on Taylors arm. "Could be. Pretty powerful, more than any grab bag I ever touched. Two powers melded? Maybe, not sure. A lot of pollentia and gemma though."

Danny nodded "I'll have the union lawyers contact her. They were already working on Taylor, who just thinks she can keep secrets from the old man, and I called George about Rachel last night. I couldn't sleep and he doesn't much. George was pretty close to filing suit about the bullies for Taylor already. Then the discovery motions will happen."

Taylors pocket squawked and she pulled out a phone set to push to talk mode "Gun Bunny, Squealer. Got some Empire pushing toward the Velvet Spread."

Taylor blushed and Danny grinned. The others looked curious. Danny supplied "Empire moving on one of the Lady Merchants brothels. A good one, the fellas like it. I'll have to tell Gunny. He and the fella's might want a piece of the action. It's a little early in the morning, especially for a weekend, for bangers, so they may be serious."

Taylor pushed a button on the phone "Harbor and Anders in ten minutes."

Glory Girl and Laserdream looked at each other. "We can be there in a minute." Vicky said.

Crystal handed Danny her keys. Rachel said "I can drive." Danny handed the keys to Rachel.

Crystal nodded "Don't bang my car up, and park it out of the combat zone. Come on Vicky. We'll beat on some skinheads."

Danny laughed at Taylor asking Amy "How does he know this stuff?" As they walked down the yard to the Volvo parked in front.

Amy turned his frown upside down "Old people know shit. By fellas he means the male dock workers?"

Taylor blushed "Males and Females. Squealer has ladies and guys. Some of them swing both ways as they call it. Kind of one stop shopping. It's actually a nice place. On the inside. They are shutting the other places down."

"Call me when you are done Taylor, before you go shopping. Be back by one. I will get George here to take statements from you and Rachel." Danny hollered out the door. Then he went in and to the phone. Gunny would be interested.

Gun Bunny

Taylor held the butterfly down on the flying cape from the Empire. The gun let out a continuous roar. His scream abruptly cut off as he plummeted. Amy punched her in the leg as Sherrel drove toward where he landed "Hey, don't just blow the shit out of them! What if you kill one?" She had figured out the intercom on the helmet she, and Rachel, had been handed pretty quick. This vehicle was nearly as loud as the tracked one. Eight wheels nearly as tall as her seemed a little much though.

Rachel shrugged as she amped the dogs up a bit in the infantry compartment "The others will learn?"

Amy glared at her, and as the noise dropped, turned the dogs hearing back on. Fixing the damage at the same time.

Sherrel cackled in the driver's seat. The truck turned infantry fighting vehicle skidded to a stop and Rachel leapt out with the dogs as Taylor did a full circle in the gunner's position.

Amy walked to Storm Tiger and healed him just enough so he would live then zip cuffed him.

Rune came around a corner and Taylor was out of position. While she was swinging to cover the Empire cape a grey shape leapt off a building onto Rune and smashed her to the ground. Then the huge dog ran off around the corner. Amy huffed and walked up the street toward Rune as Taylor swung around watching. Sherrel let the truck idle behind her in low gear.

Growling and barking was heard around the corner along with whistles and voice commands. After a shrill scream there was silence. Amy paused and stomped her foot. Bitch came back around the corner with two of the dogs carrying Cricket between them.

Amy healed Rune, spoke to her a moment, then healed her all the way. Taylor looked at her but she was talking to Rune and not paying attention. Rachel walked up and the two talked for a moment then Amy healed Cricket enough to live and left her in the street, zip tied, next to Storm Tiger. She and Rachel started back to the truck. Rune came with them. Squealer cackled and Taylor groaned.

Laser Dream and Glory girl were herding Empire goons into ambushed by the DWU. They had been moving to seal one off when this happened.

When Amy got back she looked at Taylor "Her uncle forced her into the Empire. She says they are all idiots and she doesn't want to be in the gang."

Rune snorted "Idiot dicks and their submissive bitches. Well, except Purity. She split though."

Taylor groaned. Squealer looked around "Well, get in. Let's get out of here before the PRT, or that dick Armsmaster, shows up. Taking the capes, and Gun Bunny running that buzz saw, ran the normal bangers off. At least from around here GG and LD will have to herd them back again. The douche bag must still be asleep."

Taylor looked at Amy "She means Hookwolf. He is still in PRT custody supposedly Sherrel." Squealer grunted and put the APC in gear as she lifted the ramp.

Gun Bunny

They were sitting around the Velvet Spread when Squealer nearly yelled "Walmart? Don't you like Bitch? That fucking underwear from that place will rub you raw. Charlene, trot out the collection and let's get this girl something decent.

"I can't believe your crew just took off on you and haven't tried to find you. I thought the Undersiders were classier than that.

"We can look in the supply room for body wash, shampoo and conditioner as well. Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, tampons too. Or do you do pads Bitch? Never mind we got plenty of both."

Amy was getting used to the stream of consciousness. Sherrel apparently had no filter, at all. Taylor was unflappable and didn't notice, or was already used to it.

Rachel shrugged "We work for somebody. He held a gun to Tattletale's head. He is helping Grue with his sister, getting custody of her, her mom is a druggy. Her dad is a kind of rough guy. Barely gets along with Grue. And Regent, he is just there. He's a dick. Thinks he is pretty."

Delilah nodded "It's always the way with the pretty ones. Strip honey." Charlene wheeled in a rack of underwear. Crystal and Vicky started stripping too. Amy face palmed, Taylor blushed and Sherrel cackled. Heidi, Rune, was sort of taking it all in.

Vicky looked at them "What? We save having to drive to Walmart."

Charlene nodded "These are our work clothes. Trust us to know what fits and what looks best. You two too. We got a make-up artist and hairdresser on staff, a nurse too. Got to work whether Aunt Dot is visiting or not. If you want to keep your regulars anyway."

Sherrel nodded "You need to get some bra's anyway Taylor. You've outgrown those cami's."

Taylor flushed, face palmed, and sighed "Let me call dad first." Amy gave her a betrayed look. Vicky and Crystal clapped and danced like little girls. Rachel and Heidi rolled their eyes. They ended up sitting around a brothel, with tea, coffee, and finger foods, the Velvet Spread had a full kitchen and bar too, mostly naked, trying on underwear and then clothes until noon, when the PRT finally cleared the area. Taylors blush bulb was burnt out. Amy was confused. Her eye kept wandering to Taylor, or Rachel. Heidi a few times as well. Vicky and Crystal watched and grinned.

Finally, Taylor called a halt so they could go back to the house. They looked at the folded stacks of clothes for each of them. Sherrel laughed "One of the girls is bringing a SUV. We will follow you and drop the stuff off. Payment for services rendered. Or partial payment."

Charlene nodded "Wholesale and volume discounts. You wouldn't believe the underwear we get through. Plus, customers buying it." The girls wrinkled their noses. Charlene laughed. "Babies."

Heidi shook her head "Girl gangs are different, I'll give you that."

Rachel's phone buzzed and she looked at it "Tattletale." The others walked to the car sort of leading her along as she talked to her former fellow gang member. Her side of the conversation was yes, no, sigh, lather, rinse, and repeat. She hung up and looked at Taylor. Taylor face palmed.

By the time they got the Volvo V 70 and Ford Excursion loaded and arrived at the house, got the vehicles unloaded, and everything hauled inside, Tattletale, aka Lisa Wilbourn, was already going over everything with Brandish and George. Danny talked to Taylor and the girls while he helped unload. "So, everyone fine? No casualties for the Firing Battery?"

"Oh! I like it, and I'm a plank holder. Blood in. Can we have mask and different names than New Wave?" Crystal beamed at Taylor.

Taylor sighed "I've completely lost control of my life." Amy hugged her. Rachel patted her on the back.

Danny smiled "So how about a fashion show?" As it turned out Taylors blush bulb wasn't burned out, the other girls laughed.

"Of the clothes Taylor. Not the underwear. Underwear you got from a brothel I don't even want to see in the wash."

Rachel was oblivious "Hand wash only. Most of it anyway. Expensive." Taylor rolled her eyes.

Tattletale perked up and looked at the piles of bags. Danny snorted "I am never going in you girls' bathroom again."

Crystal blinked "Can I move in? Only, I have a brother you see, and he uses my bathroom, well, we share one, across the hall."

Danny laughed "Yep, Lair."

"Base!" Taylor barked. Then her face softened from its scowl "Uh, how is that coming by the way?"

Danny laughed and laughed.

Gun Bunny

Emily Piggot was having a good day. In spite of the advent of a Miss Militia type cape, one with very little restraint. And at least a Blaster nine. Fucking howitzer for Christ sake! Brockton Bay was settling nicely. Finally. Was being the operative word apparently. Fucking howitzer! Three years of perseverance had paid off! Plus, traffic had been light this morning.

Gun Bunny. Stupid fucking name. Damn Squealer. How the girl hadn't killed a civilian by accident was known but to god. Her geometries of fire were immaculate however. Plus, the projectiles just disappeared if they went through an armed banger or didn't land with an armed banger in their kill radius in the case of the Howitzer. A fucking howitzer, banging away in the city. Crazy ass reporters standing there watching the thing. Or chasing Gun Bunny around like they were Combat Camera people in a war zone. Which of course gave hours of footage of her not killing civilians or causing collateral damage to the public domain. That had to be part of her power, so a combat thinker of some kind as well as being a blaster.

A night school law student working for the public defender could get the girl off of any charges filed. Even possession of controlled weapons as she hadn't kept one of those manifested long enough to need a stamp and this was an open carry state. Fucking New Englanders. Those weren't fucking muskets. Or sporting guns of any description. Her favorite was a M134 fucking electric Gatling gun for god's sake!

Did she wish this on herself with that 'toddlers with machineguns' line? Murphy was a bastard after all.

She nodded in acknowledgement at people in the halls as she stumped through the building and then sat in her office. She slid her card into her computer and entered her ID code. The computer booted up and she went to the daily report. Heavy engagement between the Merchants and Empire. Gun Bunny, stupid name, out with Squealer and a Stryker like vehicle early this morning. And the DWU out beating the crap out of skinheads? What, did they get bored? No wonder the traffic had been light. Brocktonites were like people living in a war zone. They disappeared when shit was going down. The adults did, most of them.

"The tourist were idiots though, standing around watching cape fights. New capes? What? Capes with powers like Glory Girl, Laserdream, Hellhound, oh god, not another one, and Panacea? What? Oh, not as good as Panacea. Not nearly as good. Storm Tiger and Cricket were mauled for god's sake. Dog bites and 7.62 bullet holes.

"That fucking minigun again. Gun Bunny was way too fond of that fucking thing. A class rating for you missy! Bangers and villains or not. Can't have you just stacking them up like cordwood. Defense of self and others only goes so far. Keep on and it will be S class. Especially if that fucking tank appeared again! No howitzer though. Maybe Squealer didn't have a vehicle that could mount the damn thing.

Well, Bradley would have some company. She ordered a Dragon transport to take Storm Tiger and Cricket to the classified site for holding, pending their trial and birdcaging. After Bradley woke up, if he ever did. Othala laying healing hands on hadn't helped as much as they thought it would have. Plus, she had to come do it every day. Under a truce deal with Kaiser. Fucking Kaiser! At least they got fifty PRT people regeneration every day. And Othala had to wear a hood. Probably still had a tracker though.

She reread the operations report, sent some request for more information, and opened her email. What the fuck? Seventeen hundred messages? What the fuck!

Emily scrolled down to when she had left yesterday and started clearing her email. Twenty-two messages overnight, the normal, and easily handled.

Now what did Legal want? What? Lawsuit? Discovery! She picked up her phone "Get Armsmaster in here. I don't care! Assault his fucking lab and bring him in here in confoam then!" She slammed the receiver down. She read another email. She picked it back up "Get Aegis in here. I know its Saturday! Call him at home Gladys!" She slammed the phone back down. She thought about it a minute and dialed a number "Miss Militia I need you in my office. My email is flooded with idiocy and testosterone and I need a sane voice... Thank you!" She hung up this time.


	4. Chapter 4

Gun Bunny 4

Armsmaster, Miss Militia, The Intel officer, and Deputy Director Renick arrived at about the same time. Emily gave them all a gimlet eye. Armsmaster of course blew that off Emily noticed. Not surprising. The guy was impervious, or oblivious, to others opinions. What was that autism spectrum thing? Asperger's. Yes, a severe case. They came in and were seated at her conference table.

Armsmaster did start a briefing using his HUD, something, or somehow. "Cape name, Gun Bunny. A power set that closely resembles Miss Militias. With the caveat, of late, that it is suspected if she keeps the weapon manifested long enough it becomes real and permanent. Several weapons have been recovered lately that bear no makers marks, proofing stamps, or serial numbers, and apparently never had them. She can also manifest and use weapon systems. So far a howitzer and an S Tank have been her largest caliber weapons with the highest crew requirements."

"They are better than the real ones from the manufacturers. The material is of higher quality, the tolerances where possible are tighter, they are optimized for a salt water environment. They require less maintenance and can take ammunition of nearly double the SAMMI standard pressures. At least from the seized samples. It's very impressive.

"There is also evidence she is a combat thinker of some kind; her projectiles go precisely where she needs them to and dematerialize rather than continuing their course to cause collateral damage."

Emily nodded "It would be more impressive if the gangs were not equipped with better weapons than us, supplied by her."

The Intel officer shook her head "Not all the gangs. The faction of the Merchants led by Squealer. Armsmaster has left out that if an ABB or Empire member tries to use these weapons, they attempt to kill them by malfunctioning. Catastrophically."

Everyone at the table perked up. The intel Officer nodded "We had suspicions, we finally got video of it happening with this last fight." She typed on the table in front of her for a moment then as the briefing came up said "Crime scene analysis and medical reports of the fights with Gun Bunny, after her debut when she went on the rampage against the Merchants after they attempted to forcibly recruit her, likely her trigger event, has shown us a high number of injuries from weapons failures. This is not unusual for the Merchants and so did not really trip our awareness.

"Subsequent crime scenes showing the same result, this time with both the ABB and Empire. The weapons involved seeming to be new, the material they were constructed from better than the normal low-quality weapon of the average Merchant, did gather some attention. Though these weapons seemed to be prone to failure.

"An analyst noted that the female Merchants we were taking into custody had the same weapons and they didn't fail. This was after Christmas. A possible second trigger as the weapons hadn't become permanent until then and her control was suddenly much better. She mostly stopped killing gang bangers and started maiming them at about that time.

"Then of course the weapons disappeared from evidence. Both our evidence locker and the police department's.

"One of the female Merchants was arrested again after she was bailed and the same weapon, or a copy of it was put into evidence. A copy down to making the same marks on the test cartridges.

"This led us to the conclusion that the Merchants have splintered into at least two factions and Gun Bunny is making the weapons for the Lady Merchants, as they are being called, and the theory that her weapons were somehow tied to who she gave them to originally. Returning to them if they are separated from them.

"That analysis has proven faulty in that the Lady Merchants can trade or use any of the weapons. The regular Merchants, ABB or Empire gang members seizing one on the battlefield and attempting to use it usually end up disabled from that particular fight at least. If not minus a hand, or dead."

Paul Renick nodded "And many others, as Panacea has stopped healing the Merchant, ABB, and Empire soldiers, other than just barely enough to keep them alive."

Emily huffed "Brandish expressing her displeasure over Canary."

The operations officer shook his head "Actually not, my wife is a trauma doctor Brockton Bay General. A kid came in and Panacea healed him. She knew him. That same night he came in three more times. Panacea stopped healing male gang bangers on the spot, other than keeping them alive, and then started making everyone she touched allergic to meth and crack. Apparently, she thinks the lack of consequences, or at least long-term ones, keep them from learning from their errors. That drug allergy caused some concern, but somehow, she tied it to the process, adulterants or something. Aside from which no reputable doctor is prescribing meth for ADHD or obesity anymore except as a last resort and those people aren't likely to see Panacea for bullet wounds and overpressure injuries, and crack is free cocaine and not used in modern medicine. She has since added some more designer drugs to her automatic immunity list. This was the same night she rebuilt Squealer. The medical ethicist are having a raging debate about it I'm told. The wife is wondering how she pisses the girl off enough to get a reduction and rebuild like Squealer got."

Everyone chuckled. Armsmaster shook his head "She used up the body fat cleaning up and repairing Squealer. At least if her observed performance at Endbringer events is a guide. From the medical report Squealer would have likely been paralyzed and on dialysis along with an insulin pump. That all occurred the night Gun Bunny manifested the M116 howitzer for the first time. For only one shot. Shortly after her first trigger. She demolished one of Squealers vehicles with it in the direct fire mode."

"It was a further ten days before Merchant women armed with Gun Bunny's weapons appeared. During that month there were daily engagements between the gangs, as normal. Looking back through the data the split in the Merchants was already apparent, the shifts in the territory controlled by the Lady Merchants go all the way back to a block from the water at that time. Then after that month, the Lady Merchants start pushing, now the Merchant hard core are pinned, in and around the train yard."

Emily nodded "I have all that, and that Gun Bunny has facilitated the Lady Merchants, recently stopping Lung even. None of this however answers why I have lawsuits on my desk in the name of Gun Bunny and Hellhound."

The operations officer sighed "You aren't going to like it boss. In Hellhounds case, it appears the police officer that investigated originally was either an idiot or some kind of fundamentalist, as well as being a friend of the victim of the alleged murder. Which seems to have been the result of Hellhounds trigger. Growing her dog into one of those beasts for the first time. She apparently didn't have control of it, and it was untrained. The alleged victim was apparently abusing at least the dog, and probably the girl."

"The PRT investigator, well they phoned it in really. I can't find any record they examined the scene or anything. They certainly never spoke to Hellhound. Instead they relied on the reports from their friend the idiot fundamentalist. We are correcting all that now but..." He shrugged "The subsequent cases as the child Rachel Lindt wandered, homeless, are now suspect. Hell, two of them were known pedophiles."

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose "That horse has well and truly bolted. Us closing the barn door now is going to make us appear culpable. Goddamnit. Get that investigator in here and examine his or her whole history with a fine-tooth comb. I don't care if they have retired or not."

"I'll make some kind of overture to Hellhounds Lawyers, or rather, I will have legal do it. See if we can get out of this without admitting culpability. Give the girl whatever assistance she needs. Maybe a monthly stipend. Goddamnit. We essentially made a fourteen-year-old who was already having problems an A class threat. Not the PRT we, this Directorate we. Goddamnit!"

The Ops officer made a note then sighed "Bad news not getting better with age, one of the Wards may have caused Gun Bunny's trigger. Or caused the conditions that led to her first trigger and then caused directly a second trigger."

Armsmaster spoke into the vast silence "Not might, Shadow Stalker and two of her school associates loaded Gun Bunny's locker with hazardous biological waste and then assaulted her and shoved her into the locker, locking her in it. Just prior to the Christmas break. She triggered or second triggered as it knocked Shadow Stalker unconscious, she and cut the lock open with a monomolecular edged bladed weapon of some kind. Probably the Gerber Mark two she is known to carry. From the damage to the locker. The lock bar was parted along its crystal lattice. She then beat Shadow Stalkers two minions or accomplice's unconscious, showered in the girl's locker room, changed into gym clothes from other lockers she cut the locks of, and went home, apparently. In one theory some time later, the merchants caught her while she was experimenting with her power in the boat graveyard and attempted to recruit her. She killed three and crippled nine of them. All self defense. In another she had already run into the merchants. Since then, you have seen the incident reports.

"Dragon and I have worked on a timeline and developing witness list."

Emily, face bright red, had pulled open a calendar "Shadow Stalker was a Ward by then. Gun Bunny's mother had died a year before that. Three possible trigger events in a little over a year." Armsmaster nodded. Emily looked at him closely for a few moments "Well, thank you for not pointing out Shadow Stalker was made a ward over your objections."

Armsmaster nodded "I had no idea she would do something like this either. I also did not believe our systems of control would not catch her if she did continue her behavior. The real problem is the campaign of bullying that she and her friends had perpetrated at Winslow, of which Gun Bunny is probably the primary victim, but is certainly not the only victim. I also did not catch her at it. Dragon and I have pieced the story together since we were notified of the lawsuits at five this morning. All of this remains to be confirmed through witness interviews but we do have enhanced surveillance video and video from both traffic cameras and security systems. Dragon is currently reviewing all of the video we have acquired. A tertiary trigger has never been recorded."

Emily looked at her watch "But it's not impossible that we know of. Eight forty. Nice work Armsmaster. Thank Dragon for me." She rubbed her temples. "Well, until they come relieve me, we still have a Directorate to run. I will discuss how we handle this with Legal, other than that, if we can make contact with Gun Bunny, or Hellhound, we will attempt to be friendly. We will get the warrants for Hellhound revoked as well. Internal affairs will work on the investigation from the point in the timeline that Shadow Stalker became a ward. I suspect the system didn't fail as much as the people involved in it did. I want Shadow Stalkers case worker's life put under a microscope."

Miss Militia offered "I have a source who normally knows what's going on in the Docks. I'll see what he has to say."

The Intel Officer grinned "The ever-taciturn Gunny Hausen."

Miss Militia shrugged "He is always friendly to me."

Gun Bunny

"You OK dad?" Taylor looked at her father sitting in his chair in the living room with a notebook and file folders on the table beside him, and in his lap.

Danny looked up at her and grinned "Getting my stuff together to continue negotiating with New Wave. George has helped out there. He went absolutely ballistic about Canary, a key issue of Carol Dallon's. It's like lawyers in love or something. Anyway, since the New Wave girls jumped in with you and Rachel in your gang, we have had a meeting every day. I think they are coming around. Oh, Eric Pelham will be hanging out with you all. Sorry. You might have to have Sarah, Erh, Lady Photon, and Neil, Manpower do a ride along as well. Maybe Brandish and Flashbang.

"Lisa actually helped, a bit abrasive, but if you brief her up good enough, she does OK. Of course, George taking her and the other Undersiders cases on for at least a look helps. We are probably going to have to do something about her, or rather their, supervillain boss though. Soon." Danny smiled.

Taylor sighed and lay down on the couch. "You are having entirely too much fun running my life."

Rachel walked in and sat on the couch in front of Taylors hips then leaned back on her "Dad." Danny grinned wider. Taylor groaned and put a pillow over her face.


	5. Chapter 5

Gun Bunny 5

Danny smiled as he served. His dining room and kitchen were full. Parents in the dining room and kids in the kitchen. He had been out standing over the grill for the first time in... well, a long time. They would have eaten outside, but it was still just a little chilly. It was only the second week of April after all. 2010 was shaping up to be a much better year though. Sarah Pelham smiled at him "Eat Danny. Stop scheming."

Mark Dallon nodded "You gang bosses, always some kind of scheme."

Carol hissed at Mark. Danny waved her off "The Dock Workers are a bit of a gang. And have had to, on occasion, employ gang type tactics. We were cleared of all charges though."

Carol barked a laugh "With your lawyers it's no wonder." Then she closed her eyes "Sorry."

Danny laughed "No, no. George will take that as a compliment. He is approaching Canary about her case?"

Carol nodded "Emily Piggot will have a stroke. First Rachel and Taylor and now Paige."

Danny shrugged "George seemed to have his sights set on politicians for Paige, Rather than the PRT. I think you might have made his career with that one. Good union man. He hates politicians."

Neil Pelham nodded "The PRT will be the one that ends up paying. The politicians will throw them under the bus."

Carol shrugged "George has an interesting personal liability and bias slant. He might actually be able to stick the ones this belongs on. Aside from that overzealous state attorney general. Wentzler is an ass. He was an ass as a judge as well. George isn't even having to work on him. He is going to get himself disbarred."

Sarah nodded "Bother all that, A lair for the girls?"

"BASE!" Floated in from the kitchen. Danny got up and closed the door. He laughed "Yes. We have, or rather the city has, a bunch of warehouses that belonged to United Fruit. They went into chapter eleven, then nine, though I'm not sure they called it that in those days, and the city seized the warehouses for taxes. Unfortunately, they were fruit storage, aging, and grading facilities with some administrative space on the top floor and really only useful for that without some rather expensive modification. No one would buy them. The damn things would cost a fortune to tear down as well. Stone built, Six stories tall with basements down to bedrock. I've toured fortifications that weren't as strong. We can get them for a couple grand apiece. Tony, the mason foreman, has some interesting ideas and got the plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and operating engineers in on it, they went to talk to Squealer. Apparently, she can build them the equipment to work on the things and will do it for Taylor for free as long as we supply the parts. Oh, and she gets to talk to Taylor about leasing one and making it a club, casino, and hotel."

"I don't know if you know but the Union has been buying up property in the docks for years. A lot of it was warehouses full of all kinds of stuff. A lot of that we have salvaged and sold on to keep the union operating. Well, after running it through the shops. A lot didn't have purchasers though, so we have lots of stuff for her to work with. We get to keep or sell on the vehicles after she is done with them. Well, not keep but they are ours. Collectors, and surprisingly movie production companies, will pay a fortune for period vehicles and parts. A vista cruiser is worth north of fifty thousand dollars. Things were junk when we were kids. Squealer isn't cheap but she makes things look showroom new."

Sarah narrowed her eyes "And she gets to charge for the maintenance for them. Something for everyone."

Danny shrugged "Most of the 'tinker' stuff is in the tools she uses to fix them up, unless they want a tinker tech hotrod. Or a stunt vehicle that flies apart or burns convincingly, for every take, or just flies. If so, they better bring a banker. Leet has done the same kind of work for us in the past when he and Uber were short of money for some stunt. Then they did that stupid game where they drove around beating up people and we had to cut them loose. Squealer separated from Skidmark at the perfect time."

The table stilled for a moment. They had all learned a lot in the meetings they had had in the last few days. Mark ask "But what are the girls going to do with a lair?"

A muffled "Not have my brother sticking his face in my bras!" floated through the door with some muffled voices after.

Sarah rolled her eyes "If she wouldn't leave them hanging in the bathroom!"

They all chuckled. Carol enquired "A clinic for Amy?"

Danny laughed "Lets me hire fifteen nurses, twenty orderlies, and a mess of maintenance staff."

Mark added "And keeps those bastards at Brockton General from charging Medicare and the State for Amy's work and pocketing the money."

Carol nodded "Yes, well, now that that has come out, we are going to get a bunch of that money back. Or Amy is rather."

"Ten administrators too, forgot about those." Danny added. "X ray techs, lab techs, maybe pump techs. All kinds of people."

Sarah nodded "Well I don't see a problem with it as long as we have access to the lair. I would like to meet Squealer."

"Mom! Oh My God! It's a base!"

"Not if you don't clean up better than you clean your room!"

"Mother!"

In the kitchen everyone looked at Crystals flaming red face. Taylor nodded "And now we have all lost control of our lives."

Eric Pelham, Shielder, snorted "We had it? Maybe Tattletale did, nope, gun to the head."

Vicky nodded "Speaking of which, Battery Hebert needs to go take care of that villain."

Lisa grinned "Battery Lordsport will, after I figure out who he really is, and we get Grue and Regent away from him."

Taylor nodded "Like that one! It will be a chance for your mom to try out a family law lawyer Vicky. Barnes doesn't appear to have legs at Dallon, Fenner, and Smith."

Amy nodded "Carol can hold a grudge."

"Speaking of which, family counseling next week. I found one local and Dad set it up." Vicky announced.

Lisa rolled her eyes "I could do it for half the money."

"Not and keep your teeth." Rachel shrugged.

Heidi nodded "You like poking people entirely too much. So, the PRT offered a cape therapist. Is that just you and Rach Tay, or can we all get in on it? Just curious you understand."

Taylor looked thoughtful "We can talk to George. See if he can swing it for the whole team."

"They will. It will make them feel good even, and they keep them on retainer for their own capes. They are getting off cheap here really. Nine K a month stipend for you and Rachel, a transfer to Arcadia for you and a teacher for Rachel. So, three hundred grand or so a year. If it had gone to jury you could have gotten them for a couple hundred million between you." Lisa reassured.

Taylor snorted "All for the low, low price of them sending Dragon to watch me make weapons and some bunch of scientists to check out Rachel and the dogs."

Heidi waved her off "We can talk Dragon into joining Battery Lordsport, that does work by the way, plus we got them to leave me and Lisa alone. Plus, a stipend, small, but still. Thanks for that by the way."

"Kissing our ass." Rachel nodded authoritatively.

Amy huffed. "We have cape geek friends. We can get them on figuring out our powers and making them work together."

Taylor pouted a bit "Less control of my life." Then she looked at Amy "Speaking of figuring out powers, didn't your dad have some kind of problem?"

Vicky beamed "Clinical depression. Ames resets him every day!"

Amy sighed "Just his neurochemicals. Doing the drug allergies gave me a clue."

Lisa rolled her eyes "That brain thing is just you. We will get you past it. Especially if you keep working your way up the higher animals."

Rachel nodded "And we make the dogs talk."

Taylor hugged Amy "Welcome to my world, no control at all."

Gun Bunny

"Because there are hundreds of counts of using parahuman powers on a normal here. If she is willing to testify. Now that you made her a cape, a Class A threat cape. Blaster nine just from what we have seen, she might decide to do some blasting. Which admittedly would be great for me as she doesn't leave many live ones that aren't crippled. For you, not so much. So, you are being shipped to San Diego for retraining, then to someplace like a quarantine zone to prove you can follow simple instructions. After that, depending on how well you do, you may or may not be charged. I would tell you not to fuck up what is your last opportunity, but I have seen your type before and will again. So, the next time I see you will probably be through bars, or over video at one of your parole hearings. Take her away."

Emily Piggot watched Shadow Stalker be marched out. "Fucking toddlers with machine guns." She signed off on the item on the checklist the lawyers had given her. It was actually a great settlement. Gun Bunny had Shadow Stalker cold. Therefore, she had the PRT cold. They would probably get away for under twenty-five million and the lawyers and court fees all together. And that was if Gun Bunny and Hellhound lived long, long lives. Not something most Capes did. That fucking handler of Shadow Stalkers had lost her fucking mind.

The school district had decided to fight. Obviously a mistake, it was going badly for them already, and the case was still in the discovery phase. Skeletons were stepping out of closets and walking around every school in the district. Dancing through the halls in some cases. They were going to owe a fortune to more than Gun Bunny. Now for the next item. "Bring in Krenshaw. Let's get this over with." One idiot to strip of his pension. He was retired, not much else they could do to the fool. Then she needed to talk to internal affairs and see what else they had dug up on Johnston, Shadow Stalkers handler. Idiotic little witch.

Gun Bunny

Lorraine shrugged "The prohibition against killing is a modern, or relatively modern, construct. Humans didn't get to be the top predator on the planet by being retiring flowers. Then the crusades, holy wars, the Mongol horde. Pacifism in the face of a world of people willing to kill is masochism. It's not some video games fault either. It's because of at least eight million years of kill or be killed evolution. Not everyone, or even most people, gets PTSD. Of the subset that get it, most don't get disabled by it. Some interesting research on it being conducted lately. You aren't going to end up an insane murder hobo. Probably. You might, but it won't be because you killed people who were trying to kill you. No matter what the 'progressive' idiots and media would have you think."

Taylor blinked. Loraine laughed "Want to see my sheepskin, license, board certification? Head doctors are as susceptible to addiction as anyone else, unhealthy lifestyle choices as well. Hooking actually lets me practice my trade at a pretty reasonable pace and every once in a while, I get to get my rocks off. Mental and physical. I have some rather complicated kinks. I got a couple of regulars who I worked on until they are really good." Taylors blush bulb had obviously been repaired.

Charlene nodded "Lorraine is one of our best earners. She has to make an appointment with herself six weeks out to get in the cattle call." Lisa leaned forward to talk to Lorraine. Taylor face palmed.

When she uncovered her face, she sighed and leaned her head back on the sofa in the employee lounge of the Velvet Spread where they were all sitting. "But normal folks hang around and intermingle."

Charlene nodded "For which we are grateful. Gives us clients, and keeps us grounded, even us normal gang members. C'mon GB, you of all people know the deal. Most capes are vulnerable to something. Gunny Hausen is forever coming up with threat sheets, a paragraph on those is just methods to stop the cape. Starting with punching them in the mouth and going all the way up to holding their head underwater. That dude is dangerous and all that time in the Corps didn't help. The Dockworkers, and some other groups in the city, aren't afraid of the capes. They give ground to Hookwolf, Kaiser, Lung, Purity, capes like that. They dogpile the rest. If they have dogpiled you before, you might get a set of concrete overshoes and a boat ride, from the dockworkers, a head shot while trying to escape from the Cops. Security isn't that different for normal folks. Joe and the boys bounce everybody who makes trouble. If not, Squealer, or you, get the call.

"Now try this on."

Taylor took the item and blushed "Are these leggings that are jeans?"

"Mmm hmm. You got legs for days. We need to show those puppies off. That tight little round butt too." Taylor blushed but took the leggings. She could wear her field pants over them, right? Or shorts made from BDU trousers, with jump boots! That would be cute.

Gun Bunny

"Lots of teachers, professors even. Well former. Got three from Ivy league schools. Drug habits are expensive as fuck. After you have burned through your salary, sold all your possessions and can't steal anymore, or with some, way before that, it occurs to you a little sex trade work might not be bad. Did you know one of the wealthiest actresses in America is a porn star? You can google it. She is worth like thirty million. Anyway, a lot of time, when you're high, you're fucking anyway. Might as well get paid. Those that make enough, well." Lorraine shrugged. "So, school for you bitches. No excuses."

Rachel glared at her. "School!"

Taylor tuned out the ongoing argument. If they were under twenty-one, they had been given a class schedule. The ladies of the Velvet Spread hadn't been kidding about it either. That plus what passed for public education and they would probably be able to get into an ivy league school. To what end, as they were capes, was the question. Plus, what else were they going to do when school let out?

So, Lisa and her crew of cape geeks were running them all through 'testing and development'. Gunny Hausen was trying to kill them in some kind of demented version of basic training. Which they attended religiously despite all bitching about it every day. Yes, it was the MMA fighter bodies they got out of the deal. Shut up brain. Fine! And the fact that Amy and Rachel apparently liked the MMA fighter body, a lot. Brain! God! She didn't even know she had liked girls like that. She still liked boys to though. Brian, Grue was pure beefcake. Alec was some pretty serious eye candy too. Stupid hormones, stupid brain! Arrrgh!

She looked up into Lisa and Heidi's grinning faces and sighed. She got back to her thoughts covering the blush with a glare. The pair of them giggled at her.

The base and Sherrel's bordello, erh entertainment complex, right next to the base, was coming along nicely. There hadn't been a callout in a week. Last but not least the plan to deal with Lisa's old boss was coming along nicely. Something was bound to go horribly wrong soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Gun Bunny 6

"So, it wasn't Rachel being taciturn, or She Ra, it was her, in fact, saying Dad was a good dad. Of course, he got his head swelled up and his chest stuck out like a chicken and has been that way since. That got me thinking of chickens and how they were supposedly dinosaurs in the cretaceous or whatever and I asked Amy if she could turn chickens back to velociraptors, they are big enough to ride?" Lisa gaped at her along with the whole jam-packed employee lounge of the Velvet Spread "And she is all 'wut?' It was just funny and I think some of the crap caught up with me and I started laughing and couldn't stop. Even when I broke the rib."

"Dromeaosaurid, Utah or Dakota Raptor. Utah Raptors are like eighteen feet long and taller than the average human. Velociraptors were only like a foot and half tall. Cassowaries and Emu's have the same foot structure, they are also aggressive and dangerous, Ostriches are too. We should stay with the dogs." Lucy, one of Lisa's crew stated firmly. She and Amanda, the other leader of the crew were friends of Panacea and super geniuses. Already taking a full college load as well as going to high school. Not parahumans, but did they really need to be when they were already Mensa members?

Panacea huffed "So 'hey, pervert nature for me will ya Ames? is fine as long as what we get is cuddly?"

Glory Girl looked at Taylor "Now you've done it. We will have hours of philosophical discussion while we are working."

Rune shrugged "Or we can go make that platform with the pintles fly and shoot up some bangers. Well Taylor can shoot, I'll drive, you can break up their cover CD." Vicky gave her a glare for the reference to collateral damage. She was getting way better!

Sherrel nodded "I need to work on some stuff anyway, you girls have fun. Where is Crystal?"

Vicky smirked "Date, she says studying."

Charlene leaned over toward them "We will have to pump her for details later. Make sure you all check the former ABB areas. With no Lung or Oni Lee, they need all the help they can get against the Empire and Coil. They did shut down the brothels like we asked."

Taylor smiled wolfishly. Rachel hopped up and pulled her to her feet, Amy automatically rose to follow. Of course, then the rest of the girls got up and followed them. They all ended up outside on a flat semi-trailer bed which had had the wheels and all the supporting structure for them removed and side armor added. Five dogs had followed them out and leapt on the platform as well. Sherrel shut the open armor panel, slapped it a couple of times and gave Rune a thumbs up. Rune charged it for a few minutes then lifted it, and them, as Taylor arranged M240 machine guns on pintles and her M134 in a ring mounted over a raised platform on four legs secured to the trailer bed. Rune kicked off a shoe and put her foot on a stack of bricks.

Vicky texted the PRT that they were starting a patrol. Amy rolled her eyes "I wish they would get off their asses and just approve us having radios already."

Lisa laughed "Government, they are moving fast, for them. It just looks like molasses to us. The wards will want in, they won't let them as usual, no patrolling with rogues! To dangerous blah blah blah. Even though we haven't even seen a parahuman in a week and haven't been shot at in a couple days. Which reminds me Gun Bunny, we have some more test ready for you."

Taylor sighed "Can we just accept the number of objects my power can track is infinite?"

Glory Girl shook her head "Nope. If it isn't and it gets overwhelmed, in like a sandstorm, it would be a problem."

"Because we have so many sandstorms on the east coast." Taylor snarked.

Rachel shrugged "Dust Devil, Dervish, Cimarron, though he just does straight line wind right?"

Amy beamed at her "But he can push debris. Nice Rachel!" The other girls looked at Rachel, Taylor, and Amy blushing at each other and grinned, then turned away when the three looked up from their little huddle.

Gun Bunny

Danny walked up to Mark Hausen's guard house and Mark snorted "I already sent a couple teams out Dad."

Danny grunted, then gave him a glare. Mark chuckled "Stop being everybody's Dad then. You know it's not like they will actually need the support. I mean the duty PRT strike team will be following along close behind that flying gun truck thing, the Protectorate patrol will be kept informed, and be ready to swoop in when the first shots are fired. The BBPD will have all the patrols notified and SWAT ready to swoop in and make arrest. The girls won't even see anything, again."

"And they will bitch about it. I will be happy. We both know they won't see anything until they do. Then it is going to be a problem."

Mark shrugged "Whatever that crap is Squealer made that armor out of is proof against even medium caliber stuff. Except Gun Bunny's, or some other highly ranked tinkers. The normal gang members are going to get smoked quick in that fight. Rune knows to keep the platform low until the large caliber stuff comes out then to get the hell out of there. She charges it constantly and doesn't fly her bricks, just keeps charging them. Those things are like plate armor now."

Danny nodded watching the flat bed fly over the docks toward downtown "I'll feel better when we get the purpose designed one built."

"Well if it didn't have to be a convertible so they can lay out on the damn thing it would go faster."

"I like that part too though. They can get up high enough only airplanes could ogle them."

Mark chuckled and shook his head "Dad." Danny glared some more.

Gun Bunny

Vista compressed space and Clockblocker charged down that space, all the way across the east river, and slapped a line of thugs and two parahumans in the face, freezing them. Flechete blinked and shook her head. Weld chuckled "We so have to do this crap to the Teeth."

The other Wards on this operation, along with Rime and Legend, dropped into the scene. Legend nodded "Interesting combined use of Powers Brockton Bay. Nice work." The PRT strike team showed up and started securing the gang members along with the parahumans, through the simple expedient of spraying them with containment foam. A boom truck and two stake side trucks pulled up to start transporting them to the Toombs. Blocks of foam stacked like giant hay bales. The Toombs was one of the local jails the PRT had taken over and upgraded for Parahuman confinement. A jail that was currently housing Bakuda from Brockton Bay as well. Lung had been moved to a more secure, classified, facility by Dragon.

Vista smiled "Lung keeps you focused, then there is the Empire and Hookwolf, Purity, and Kaiser. Well, not Hookwolf anymore."

Flechete nodded "I'm a little wary still. We patrol jointly there next week. Any town that can run the Butcher off has to be rough."

Clockblocker snorted "Don't try to rough up a call girl and Gun Bunny won't turn you into hamburger."

"And cook you like she did Hookwolf." Vista added. Then she added some more conditions "Don't be a mugger, don't assault people, don't try to rob stores, just don't maybe."

Rime frowned beneath her visor "She is that effective?"

Clockblocker shook his head "It's like some kind of plague, all the people who live in the docks, and that is most of the workers in town, if they aren't criminals and are of age, they get a Gun Bunny Special. Normally a semi auto pistol."

Vista interrupted "Some M1, M14, and M4 rifles."

"Thank you, Vista, those go to the veterans that used that kind of hardware. We think she knows what is going on around where her guns are. So, if you try one of those people on, they get out a piece, then that death zeppelin shows up and hoses you down with 7.62 NATO out of that minigun."

"Unless you are Lung or one of the Valkyrie twins, then its twenty-five-millimeter cannon out of a chain gun." Vista smiled dreamily, remembering watching that very thing happen to Fenja and Menja.

"Good Lord, how high a body count does she have, why is she not a S class threat? Why haven't we heard about any of this?" Weld asked.

Legend nodded "Her capabilities are discussed in the briefing packet. Her body count is high, however, there is enough evidence that it was, and still is, defense of self and others, that prosecution is unlikely to succeed. Also, she only ever hurts gang members or criminals, even her weapons. Something we have discovered recently. Somehow, they shoot into good backstops or the projectiles vanish, after hitting a gangbanger or villain cape. She doesn't do collateral damage. Other than gang property. She, or her weapons, also don't do suicide, negligent discharges, or let small children play with them. Even Dragon can't figure out how she is doing that. We are trying to get her to come in for power testing."

Weld smirked at Clockblocker who shrugged "So far past bullshit, I'm not sure Space Whale Magic even covers it. It's bizarre, you get to a place with bodies lying everywhere, most of them wounded, very few killed and brass a foot deep on the ground with a couple cars burning and then by the time the medics get there and you get the bangers cuffed the brass evaporates, and the gangers who aren't killed outright are going to live."

"And the death zeppelin is circling overhead."

Flechete nodded "I've seen video of Panacea healing the bangers enough to live and Glory Girl carrying her off on PHO. I saw one with Shielder and Laser Dream guarding them while they did it."

Clockblocker nodded "Yeah, it all changed in the bay, four, five months ago. The early days were worse actually. Before she had Battery Lordsport, she killed a bunch of merchants."

"Now she just puts them in the hospital for a couple months mostly. Of course, they can't use all their arms and legs really well when they come out but Battery Lordsport doesn't really go all out except against the Empire or Coils Mercenaries." Vista shrugged "And New Wave joined the Battery Lordsport or are allied with them, Brandish got with their lawyers. Pretty hard to lay a glove on them with that kind of support, and as controlled as they are now. It's not like it was the first month, that was just a free for all, a five-way gang war. Gun Bunny and the Lady Merchants versus everybody."

Weld frowned "And she won."

"S tanks aren't current, but an old tanker told me 'the only tank in town is the best tank in town'. Gun Bunny can be that tank any time she wants to. Not much you can do about that." Clockblocker looked around at the group.

Legend nodded "Fortunately she seems to be on the side of good, even though we wish it was less violently on our side."

"I've seen some thinker projections that had us losing Brocton Bay like we did Gary. I don't think that's a danger anymore. The East North East got a little breathing room, now with Lung gone, and the Hard-Core Merchants living in the city dump inside a PRT and Police cordon, I think we might recover." Vista offered.

Rime nodded "That is the plan, and why we are doing these joint patrols. To put some more forces, new faces even, on the streets of Boston, Brockton Bay, and New York. Try to get the upper hand on all three."

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked at the girl in the red cheongsam with the silver Asian dragon embroidered into it standing on her front walk wearing the finely wrought, silver, metal, dragon mask "Twenty bucks she is Lungs daughter Ryu who was hidden away and trained to take over the ABB for years in a shaolin monastery."

The girl started and Lisa fell over laughing. Amy huffed and went over to the girl, Rachel gave Taylor a look. Taylor heaved a sigh "Well come on then, want some tea? We actually have some pretty good stuff from one of the markets in ABB territory."

The girl finally spoke as Taylor turned and kicked at Lisa, who was still rolling on the ground, or porch in this case "I was not informed you had a thinker power Gun Bunny."

"Don't, I just knew things were going too well, I had to much control of my life. You and your retainers there, lawyers I bet? Anyway, they are going to send the parents and our lawyers spinning at about ten thousand rpms and hovering about three feet off the ground. We'll introduce you and them around and go over to the base. We can hang out without all the drama and later we can go shoot some idiots. Its relaxing. What kind of dragon are you, or did you not take after dear old dad?" Taylor asked leading her into the house leaving Amy and Rachel to get Lisa up and moving.


	7. Chapter 7

Gun Bunny 7

School proceeded. Over Lisa's strenuous objections that she already had a GED. It didnt matter to the Lady Merchants, Danny, or the New Wave parents. So, she was a junior in high school, the others were freshmen. All of them were taking college courses.

Including Ryu, Sally Suzuki, the now head of the ABB, and a member of Battery Lordsport. A true second-generation trigger who turned into a silver scaled eastern dragon with control of electricity rather than the flying fire Godzilla her father had become. She got wings much earlier than her father as well. She also had his temper and a lack of his restraint. Or maybe that was just the misogynist in the ABB making her touchy, and paying the price. Ryu was studying under Squealer to learn how to turn a gang of misogynist into something she could tolerate.

It was a bit odd that though they used dissimilar methods, the amount of violence, and the precipitous drop in the numbers of male members of the gang were the same. Squealer chased people down with one of her 'rides' when they pissed her off. Ryu changed into a dragon and electrocuted them. ABB territory smelled like an open pit barbeque joint. Long pig was on the menu. The PRT was still struggling with it, but as Ryu was unknown before Taylor gunned down Lung and Bakuda they blamed her. Which made the lawyers happy, and gave them something to do. Unfortunately, it pissed Taylor off and now the female ABB had Gun Bunny Specials. As did most of the Asian females in town. Tiny little Asian women would reach in their clothes, and come out with a pistol that only needed wheels to make it a respectable piece of artillery.

Danny told Taylor "Your mother would be so proud." Taylor face palmed. Lisa fell over laughing again and explained about Annette Rose Hebert being an enforcer for Lustrum to the rest of Battery Lordsport.

Emily Piggot was considering having Panacea heal her so she could become an alcoholic more seriously every day. After the last conference call with Costa Brown she had picked up her phone and was actually dialing New Wave's number when she caught herself.

Gun Bunny

Friday October twenty ninth, one of those crisp, clear, New England fall days, in third period, the Endbringer sirens went off. Taylor listened to the pattern, got up, closed her physics text, packed her things and went to pick Rachel up out of her special education classes.

Rachel was blazing through all the years of schooling she had missed when she had triggered and gone on the run. She was already through seventh grade, mostly by testing out of it, and it looked like she would finish eighth before Christmas. Her being a bit taciturn fooled people. She was much less so now. Lorraine shrugged and said "It's in the normal spectrum of reactions to stress. Notice she is less stressed and talks more now." Anyway, Rachel was catching up to where they were and would join them as freshmen or continue and maybe finish high school next year, catching up with her age group. As she wasn't thrilled with school, at all, it was a toss-up which she would do, but the smart money was on joining the rest as a freshman, or sophomores maybe by the time she caught up. Taylor was there after all, and where Taylor was Rachel and Amy weren't far away.

Battery Lordsport walked out back to a concrete slab and Rune lifted it off headed for their base. Eric caught a ride with them as New Wave was going to meet there. They arrived to a hive of activity. Taylor looked around "What in the world?"

Squealer trotted up "Gunny has been working on a plan for most of his life, I think. Now you in this APC, and lay down. You are going to need to be rested. Its Behemoth and it's in Brasilia, Brazil. We are in contact with the PRT and they are getting us a mover. Thirty minutes, then three lifts." She trotted off. Amy and the other girls lead Taylor to an APC fitted out as an ambulance. Before Taylor got her shit together to argue she was lying in a stretcher hanging from chains that ran floor to ceiling and Amy had put her to sleep. "You are going to have to explain that when we get there." Rachel said. The other girls winced. Amy just arched a brow.

Lisa waved them off "As soon as she sees this fucker, she will pop out that S tank and run it until she is unconscious. You need to stick close to her Bitch and pick her up when she loses the tank. She will be unconscious. Get her to Amy. Amy needs to shut off you and the dogs hearing, or turn it down maybe, because Tay is going to empty the basic load of main gun into this fucker.

"Come on, let's get commo and gear and see if we can be back here in ten minutes. The teleporter may show early. The rest of us will run search and rescue, some of the dogs can help with that. None of us are capable of fighting Behemoth except for Tay. Not and doing any real damage."

Sherrel had trotted up "Hey! I built a thing. It started out as a surplus M107 175mm gun. I tweaked it a bit and added an auto loader. I might be able to do something. I talked to Tay after she did all that research. Mine will cycle through a bunch of them. Hers is all titanium hafnium boron alloy kinetic penetrators all the time."

Lisa paled "Don't use the cobalt ones. The fucker will make a dirty bomb out of them."

Danny drove up in a M93 Fox, taken out of inventory, sold for scrap and bought by Battery Lordsport LLC. Then hot rodded, naturally. The girls gaped at him as he dismounted grinning "What? Somebody has to do command and control."

Heidi snickered "Poor Taylor, can't even get away on a hot date."

Vicky laughed as everyone else gaped at Heidi. Vicky recovered "That was bad and you should feel bad."

Crystal nodded "You really should. Taylor is going to have a complex."

"Bah, she can have control when she is married, has kids, and I go back to dating." Now Danny was the center of attention. He realized he may have made a tactical error and tried a distraction plan "We are on the clock Ladies." The ladies nodded and walked off with a few glances back at him.

Gun Bunny

Purity circled two kilometers from the projected emergence point, three kilometers outside of Brasilia in the Federal District, watching, amazed, as pair after pair of armored vehicles appeared near the medevac point, sat for a few seconds, then raced away faster than any armored vehicle should be able to go, making the most god-awful noise and leaving trails of coal black smoke.

A platform festooned with guns mounted on pintles and two Bushmaster cannons on powered mounts, fore and aft circled at a lower altitude with speakers broadcasting instructions in Portuguese, Spanish, and English. Twenty enormous quadrupedal dinosaur things patrolling on the ground beneath it.

Battery Lordsport had arrived. Purity giggled at the frustrated PRT liaison on the platform, arrived and taken charge apparently, someone needed to, this had been devolving into a cluster fuck, and were still arriving.

Who was this new girl in the red dress and the dragon mask? Ryu! Lungs daughter, whom no one had ever seen or heard of before a little while ago, now leader of the ABB, the semi reformed ABB, no sex trafficking anymore, allies of Battery Lordsport, like the Lady Merchants. They must have emptied the docks. Kaiser better make a good showing here or he was toast.

"Thirty seconds to emergence." her tinker tech armband informed her. Purity nodded. She would get a little closer but not much. She planned to hit Behemoth with everything she had between waves of flyers. She could get a few shots in before the first wave got there. Or one long, all out, blast.

Purity had wondered why Brockton Bay, of all places, got the movers so fast that the PRT hadn't even set up the command center and medevac point yet. Now it was obvious, that was a lot of equipment and people, add in the Brockton Bay capes and it was a creditable force even for an Endbringer.

Taylor stood on the platform watching as Dad, Sarah, and Lisa directed assets all over the place. She was tracking hundreds of her weapons moving. She helped move some of the weapons to the side of the platform facing the emergence and aimed the chain guns. She saw the first spike, glowing dully red, break the surface and tapped her earpiece "Identified, follow my tracer." She opened fire with APFSDS from both chain guns. Soon enough all the guns that could bear, had the range, and were unmasked opened fire under her control. Behemoth kept rising, the rounds having minimal effect.

A searing flash joined in, settled into a twisting helix of plasma, and went on and on as Behemoth's head cleared the ground. That was having some effect as well and Taylor poured on the fire, taking all the guns with selectable rates of fire to high rate. The coruscating white blast along with the penetrators of her weapons seemed best together. The damage where they met on Behemoth was significant.

Taylor felt the two slaps on her leg and ordered "Weapons hold, air going in." She stopped firing and busied herself checking her many weapons, upping them to the highest rate possible along with the heaviest ammunition. SLAP with her alloy penetrators for the fifty caliber and seven point six two systems. All of that while waiting on the PRT Liaison officer to let her know when she was up again.

The radio maintained stunned silence for a minute then chatter picked up. Exuberant chatter until the armbands reported "Acolyte down KC eleven." Taylor looked toward the grid reference and saw the APC race in, discharge a full salvo of smoke grenades, drift sideways, skid to a stop with the ramp already falling, two people leap out, roll the cape onto a stretcher, and leap back in the APC with the stretcher as the ramp came up. The APC was already moving, literally spinning its tracks with the tinked motor and transmission combination not able to hook a thousand horsepower to the ground effectively, juking left and right when it wasn't skidding wildly, with the engine howling and the transmission shifting up through the gears, with it's on board smoke generator running leaving a stream, cloud really, a smoke platoon would be proud, of white smoke and reddish dust behind it. The noise was incredible, like the largest cat in the world in the world's largest blender. Or that idiot on TV blending ball bearings with the volume cranked to a hundred.

Seconds into the fight, Behemoth not fully emerged and they had their first casualty. And a recovery. The PRT Liaison nodded and mouthed 'good work' The woman had a different radio net in each earpiece and a hand mike in each hand. Taylor took a deep breath and settled in.

She got tapped on the side again and opened fire with every weapon that would bear and had the range. Including the ones on the vehicles doing recon or evacuation. Even the medic vehicles had as heavy a weapon as the pintle could carry. Oldsmobile M9 37mm auto cannon or Bushmaster 25 mm chain guns by preference. Of course, Gun Bunny models and her ammunition for them, which nearly doubled the velocity of the standard and improved the rates of fire by about half. All kinetic penetrators as that seemed most effective.

It was a lot of shots even if only a few guns could engage. Racing around the battlefield, as the vehicles evacuating civilians and now capes were, at least a few could at any given moment. They were also putting about fifty gallons a minute worth of unburned hydrocarbons in the air. The only place that was clear of smoke was the heated, thus thermally rising. circle of air about two kilometers in diameter centered on Behemoth. Which let the flying capes appear with no notice. or should have. Behemoth seemed to be concentrating on the capes who could damage him the most.

Purity joined in again, and this time an enormous cannon of Squealers started dropping loads of reaction poisoning metals on Behemoth. Or slamming them into him at a significant fraction of the escape velocity of the sun's gravity well. The noise was a visible shock wave, both from the firing, and the impact on Behemoth.

Taylor wasn't really aware, she was thinking about so many things, but all of her guns were shooting her titanium hafnium boron alloy as her power took a short cuts. It functioned well as a projectile so it just used it all the time instead of switching. If Behemoth was a nuclear reactor he was being poisoned quite thoroughly. Shooting amped up APFSDS from the 25 mm and AP shot from the 37mm guns, Behemoth was being coated and shallowly penetrated.

The thinkers noticed and some questions went to the tinkers who all looked at each other chagrinned for a moment, then went back to work, measuring, reporting, designing and building. Most with new ideas.

Lisa was watching Behemoth. He was slow, this wasn't the hero killer she had heard about. "Is he always like this?" she asked on the thinker net.

Dragon answered "No. Gun Bunny's idea is working. At least partially. His emission of radiation has been cut by two thirds. We thought it was worth a try when I was working with her and watching her make weapons. Squealers ideas for the mounts Gun Bunny can control is working as well."

Lisa frowned "I think I meant in thinking? Action maybe. He seems so slow."

One of the Brazilian government thinkers concurred "I have been to his fights before. He is no Leviathan, certainly not Ziz agile, but yes, this is different."

One of the other thinkers added "Casualty count is unprecedentedly low. I know it seems a lot to lose one every few seconds but most of these have been injuries, which those crazy people are recovering. They don't call him the hero killer for nothing."

Lisa grabbed her head and bent over in her seat as her power howled at her, she rocked back and forth and then sat up "Gun Bunny, Tattletale, you and Squealer have put him on a time limit. He is going to go for the admin area and evac point." She collapsed and another thinker held a wad of gauze under her bleeding nose as the armband reported "Tattletale down, Admin area."

Gun Bunny turned to Rune "Drop and slow down. I need off."

Rune looked at her for a moment then nodded. "If you keep the guns manifested, I'll stay up and in front of him. If they disappear, I'll get our people out."

Gun Bunny nodded and looked over the side then vaulted it. She landed inside the S tank and sped away. Bitch looked at Rune, nodded and vaulted the rail landing on one of her dogs. She, and the entire pack, sped away after the tank. Rune looked at the PRT Liaison "Take the aft chain gun. I got the bow." The chain guns were in Mk 38 Mod 0 configurations.

The armbands were relaying instructions, the individual radio nets were busy, and Behemoth turned, as ponderously and certainly as a glacier turning down a mountain valley. Or so it seemed.

The world watched with baited breath from a web cam atop the towers at the National Congress building. As they had the whole fight. That camera now had a flank view of the fight as Behemoth turned. He had been facing the towers and starting that way. It was also being carried, live, worldwide, as its feed was somehow shielded in the Brazilian government's website.

Taylor was running the Stridsvagn 103D on both the turbine and piston engine. About a tenth of the time it was airborne as she never lifted her foot from the floor. She power slid into a clear avenue of approach, the obvious one for Behemoth to use toward the admin area and evac point three kilometers behind her, and charged down it. He noticed. Taylor braked hard at about twelve hundred meters from him, then put the tank in the reverse range. She opened fire and for the next three minutes the world seemed to hold its breath as she fired fifty rounds of one hundred and five-millimeter, long rod sabot with the penetrator made of her titanium hafnium boron alloy. These penetrators weighed four point eight kilos and were moving at sixteen hundred meters a second. Which meant they hit with over four and a half million foot pounds of energy, or, over six point one million joules, in an area the size of a dime. They were vaporized as they penetrated deeply, one every three or so seconds. S tanks were not stabilized gunnery platforms. Stabilization wasn't really possible without a turret that could move independently of the hull. Taylor had to fire from the short halt as she skittered backwards, dodging weak return fire from Behemoth. Otherwise it would have been over sooner, as the tank could fire a main gun round every three seconds with its auto loader.

Squealer was not to be left out, and emptied both drums of her autoloader, which her and her crew had just finished refilling. Twenty-two rounds in the same three minutes. Meanwhile the blasters with the range poured on fire for that three minutes.

Behemoth, shredded, rivers of some black icor flowing from him and igniting. Lava dripping off some deeper wounds, took a knee. Legend, Purity and Eidolon closed the range in the guns silence and cut loose with everything they had. So did every other blaster that had arrived. The brutes threw things, In Victory Dallon's case, a Chetra T40 Russian dozer, how about sixty five tons of love, from tractor factory forty five Comrade? All while screaming incoherently and looking like the red hulk. Her aura was flushing people ten kilometers away and putting them to flight. She got shock wave velocity out of the thing. A moment of comedy amidst the terror that was Behemoth charging the casevac point full of injured people. Finally, Alexandria led the flying bricks capable of it in, and cut completely lose on him.

Some members of the audience watched in horror, others wept openly, as the girl with the hell beast leapt from one that had been roaming the battlefield and picked the thin girl off the ground where the funny looking little tank had been. She took a knee too. It looked like the Michelangelo's Pieta mirrored except for the long, curly, dark hair flowing down to the ground, the blood leaking from her nose, and the ravening hell storm loosed on the demon in the background, oh and the tears tracking down the mask less, blond, leader of the hell beast face. The camera had zoomed into them as tight as it could as the ravening energies and coruscating lights washed out the action near Behemoth. Rachel stood with Taylor limp in her arms and the dogs surrounded her as the camera refocused and pulled back including a shot of behemoth sinking into a pool of lava behind them.

People later swore up and down they saw the marks of the passion, there were small marks left by the head rest over the sights as Taylor had not been wearing a helmet, pressure cuts really, as the adrenalin had been flowing, and the crucifixion on her hands. Taylor never did figure out where those small wounds had come from. She did not have matching marks on her feet or a wound in her side and she was happy to tell people that.

Glen Chambers screamed and bashed his head on the wall, until they put him in a closed cel foam rubber lined M/S confinement cell, in a strait jacket.


	8. Chapter 8

Gun Bunny 8

Taylor opened her eyes and blinked at the cool blue ceiling. "Fuck, was that a dream?"

"Nightmare more like. We forted up in the base. Your house is like a freaking shrine or something." Sally Suzuki leaned over her. "How are you?"

Taylor moved to sit up and Sally helped her "Good, yeah, I feel fine. I was exhausted, past it even. How is Lisa?"

Sally smiled "Aneurism. Nearly killed her. Good thing Panacea was only meters away. Epic ass chewing for pushing her power so hard. From Panacea, your dad, Alexandria. It's hilarious. She can't go anywhere without someone watching her like a hawk."

"Poor Lisa" Even Taylor couldn't tell whether that was sarcasm or not, and she said it. Taylor looked out the window she had walked to in her top floor of the base bedroom "Uh, the S tank stayed?"

Sally joined her at the window and giggled "No, the Swedes sent over their best four D models for you to have as a thank you for nearly killing Behemoth. They had them in storage, Dragon brought them in one of her transports."

"Fuck, how did they know? Wait how long have I been out?" Taylor had to sit in one of the armchairs she had put near the window.

"A little over forty-eight hours and they knew when it happened, so did the world. There was a web cam running on the National Congress building. The whole town is a UNESCO world heritage site. Its live twenty-four seven. It was looking right at you as you shot the shit out of Behemoth. The Triumvirate and Purity took advantage of what you and Squealer did and drove him off. They don't think he is dead but he wasn't doing well. Personally, I welcome our new overlord, the Endslayer." Taylor gaped at her.

"Ha, you should see the picture they got of Rachel picking you up. It's already up on walls and people are lighting candles in front of it."

"Wut?"

Sally held out her smart phone. Taylor leaned her head back and closed her eyes after looking at the picture. The Swedes got some serious cred for that freaky little tank. They love you, at least their Armored Corps does. Sally laughed and laughed. She laughed harder when Taylor asked "Wait, does that mean we have school tomorrow and I missed the whole freaking Halloween weekend?"

Lisa walked in "Trick or Treat!"

"Oh fuck off." Taylor lifted her head and opened her eyes "You OK?"

"Yeah. And I didn't push my power. It went fucking nuts or something. Fucking thing."

"Where is everyone else? what the hell happened after I went out, when did we get back?"

Lisa sighed "They are going to brief us tonight. Its four fifteen now. You got time to get up and get showered. No need to worry about makeup, once you step off this floor its mask all the time. The PRT, Protectorate, Swedish Armor Corps, US Army and half the world have reps running around here. Brazil wants to give us medals, you a paycheck for life, maybe an island and a ranch, Rachel and Sherrel as well, it will settle by Christmas."

"How the fuck are we going to go to school?"

Squealer walked in "Teleporter to an apartment downtown. Change there and then go. I'm not a transportation tinker for nothing am I?"

Heidi stuck her head in and leaned back out "Taylor is up!"

Taylor grinned at the running footsteps in the hall then squawked as she got leapt on and toppled backwards chair and all. "Amy! What the fuck!" Taylor got up, helped Amy up and hugged her. She got pushed back in her chair, a hand laid on her check and looked up into a sea of smiling faces. She rolled her eyes.

Amy nodded "OK, you are fine." She wrapped an arm around Taylor's waist squeezing in the chair with her.

Taylor asked her "Where is Rachel?" as she wrapped an arm around Amy and led them to the love seat, rather than being squished, while the others used the armchair, couch, bed and area rug for seats.

"She took some dogs to help the PRT and Protectorate find the Fallen that have shown up at your house."

Glory Girl nodded "It's the new Sunday afternoon pastime. Everybody is doing it. I got a couple earlier myself. Ryu uses lightning and knocks them off forty or fifty at a time. They went nuts, got on buses in Texas, Kansas, and Arkansas, and drove up here as soon as you got outed, yesterday early in the morning. Dragon is hunting down Void Cowboy, he, if it is a he, outed you. Went to middle school with you he said? Recognized your hair."

"Fucking Greg Veder. He never could leave my hair alone. Little weirdo."

Lisa arched a brow "But you aren't very upset?"

Taylor huffed "Amy knew who we were nearly immediately. Dad figured it out. Not a real big secret. If anybody fucks with dad I will make them beg for me to finish them off. I think most reasonable people understand that at this point, and the insane, well, what can you do?"

Heidi grinned "You can shoot them so you don't have to live with them."

Taylor grinned "Come on, let's go help Rachel, you guys can fill me in as we find idiots."

The girls all grinned and headed for the door. Taylor spun Amy to her and kissed her. She broke the kiss and looked up. She blushed furiously at the grinning faces peeking around the doorframe.

Gun Bunny

Rachel followed the platform down with her eyes and stepped on when it got level with the roof she was on. Taylor hugged her and she kissed Taylor. Amy grinned and kissed Taylor too. Lisa face palmed. Glory Girl laughed and shrugged "Mom is going to lose her shit. Which way Rachel?"

Rachel pointed "Bunch of the robe idiots are fighting the skull idiots over there. We are pushing them to the Dump. They can fight the doped up idiots."

Taylor looked over the side of the platform at the twin giants moving down the street punting people wearing robes, or choir gowns, something. "Is that the Empire?"

Rune nodded "Yep."

Taylor pointed "Circle around to the left I saw a flash."

Amy poked her "Do not kill the Butcher. Shoot her up all you want but don't kill her. You know what, she might teleport off and die, don't shoot her."

Taylor frowned "How are we going to stop the Teeth then?"

Rune chimed in from atop her brick pavement where she stood barefoot "Killing most of her gang is how Kaiser ran her, him, whatever, off before. Big thing, tells the story like it's the fucking Viking saga and he is Eric the Red or some shit, every Thanksgiving."

Taylor nodded and held the palm grip down spinning up the barrels on her favorite weapon. Amy watched where it was pointed and sighed "Low center mass please." Taylor cackled and held down the trigger energizing the feeder delinker. The chainsaw at eleven thousand rpm sounded over her cackling and everyone but the giant twins took off running. The twins looked up smiling and waving.

Taylor let off the trigger and palm switch and the M134 spun down. She leaned against it with rosy cheeks and a goofy smile. Amy tried to frown then shook her head and went around fixing peoples hearing. Those people immediately put on hearing protection. The smart ones doubled up. Taylor was going to come out with a chain gun or two before this was over.

Gun Bunny

Armsmaster stood from his crouch "All six thousand. She will have to change boxes."

Miss Militia chuckled "Which she can do as fast as she makes the gun appear. She will have to wait for more targets first." She watched Glory Girl fly down with Panacea. Shielder and Laser Dream orbited the pair as Panacea went around healing Fallen just enough to live. "Which might not happen, they're still running, the Teeth are too. They will be at the dump by the time Panacea finishes." She ducked as a shotgun went off twenty-six times in a row. The Butcher fell toward the ground screaming, and disappeared in a flash with a loud report. "Benelli M2 with an Xrail." Armsmaster turned and looked at her. She nodded "Sweet set up for CQC."

Panacea was standing on the ground, fist on hips and foot tapping, Looking up at the platform. Gun Bunny's head peaked over the rail "Rubber buckshot. Didn't even break the skin."

Panacea blinked "I thought she didn't feel pain?"

Gun Bunny shrugged, dismissed the gun, and recalled it. "Bean bag this time."

Armsmaster looked around at Miss Militia and saw her holding the same type of gun. He rolled his eyes behind his visor. What was it with these women and hot guns?

Gun Bunny

Taylor leaned against the rail with Amy on one side and Rachel on the other "We need like a grill on the platform, some coolers and lawn chairs too."

Ryu laughed "Who knew it was going to become trash Godzilla vs whatever that thing is."

"Got to be Animos."

Purity landed on the platform "Battery Lordsport."

Taylor looked at everyone looking at her. "Oh fuck me. Hey Purity."

Purity turned down the light show "I needed to talk to Rune."

Taylor nodded "We'll just be over here watching the show."

Purity nodded "You should get a grill."

"See! Didn't I say?"

"Oh my god! I'll go get a grill, what does everyone want?" Glory Girl exclaimed.

Laser Dream looked at Vicky, "Burgers and Dogs, chicken takes too long. Eric grab some sodas from a store. You guys pony up some money. I'll go to the market."

Gun Bunny

Dennis looked at the death zeppelin, with the white smoke drifting away from it, as it cruised toward the building they were on. "They're hit. They need to feather the prop and dive the fire out." The other wards turned to him "What, it's what they do in all the movies that have airplanes with that many guns."

Chris snorted "This isn't World War Two and that isn't a B17."

Carlos smiled "Although it might be world war three. B24s get no respect either. Longer range, heavier bomb load. Just as survivable, it just didn't look as sexy."

Dean looked at the platform now on close approach "It might not be WW II but it does have nose art." He pointed.

Vista looked at the voluptuous figure painted on the front of the platform, a young woman in gun metal gray plate armor, of the non-functional fantasy variety of course, boob and back plate, armor panties, and sighed "Squealer, or one of her girls. Does that model have bullets for a bra? Hey wait, is that Amy's face?"

Dean focused "I thought more Taylor. and those are bombs I think, the bra, half of bombs anyway, maybe a quarter, just the front."

Dennis gaped at all his friends "On fire!"

Chris looked at him "You need to get your eyes checked. They got a grill."

Vista nodded "And the cutest sailor shorts and kaki tops ever. If they had done the hair it would be the forties over there."

The platform eased up to the building then backed against the side "Hey Wards! Want a burger? Hot dog? Soda?" Vicky waved.

Carlos smiled "Let me call it in. Don't want anyone getting upset."

Vicky flew a burger over to Dean with a can of Coke. Carlos rolled his eyes. Taylor handed Vista a burger and Sprite after talking through a compressed space tunnel.

Carlos listened to the radio and nodded while responding then looked up "Uh apparently we can go with you guys? I just asked about getting some food. Apparently, this is a 'bonding opportunity'."

Rune chuckled "PRT PR must be watching. Come on then, we are backing up PRT in this sector anyway."

Taylor nodded "Anybody want to shoot some? All non-lethal now, so grab a burger and gun."

Carlos held up a finger while touching his ear with the other hand then relayed "Miss Militia is coming along to chaperone."

Vista laughed "Oh no, this is going to turn into a who's gun is bigger contest."

Taylor grinned and manifested a M40 recoiless rifle in the bow "Clear backblast!" She sighted on Animos and fired the fifty cal spotting rifle, pulling the elevation wheel, as soon as the spotting round hit she pushed the wheel, firing the recoilless rifle. Everyone cheered from the stern where they had all run.

Rune steadied the platform, watched the rounds flight, and nodded at the hit. "HE?"

Animos was wallowing on the ground, squealing and bleeding. Taylor reloaded and just as Miss Militia stepped on the platform fired at Mush. She blew about five tons of trash off his form. Everyone cheered. Miss Militia came and looked at the M40 and then manifested her own version. Animos ran and hid behind Mush.

The Butcher made a run and Taylor manifested her M2. The Butcher looked at the grinning Gun Bunny for a long moment, shrieked, and aborted her run. She turned on Crusader and Kreig .

Miss Militia looked up after knocking a few tons of trash off of Mush and raised a brow. Taylor shrugged "She really doesn't like bean bags. Nice shot, took that whole arm off. Flush Animos. Or, wait, I'll flush him. Rune take us into a gun orbit." Taylor manifested the M134. Miss Militia grinned and got her M40 ready.

The Platform moved off at a jogging pace raising up and starting an orbit around the dump inside the PRT and Police cordon. The snitch flew inside the dump area and news helicopters flew around the outside past the cordon two dragon suits were maintaining by flying in opposing direction orbits.


	9. Chapter 9

Gun Bunny 9

Emily Piggot looked over the crowd in the large conference room. The large horseshoe table was full, as was the theater style seating behind the closed end of the horseshoe. It was a capacity crowd, in the largest conference room in the PRT building. Emily nodded as the doors were closed "Aegis, I think we will hear from you first. We didn't let you talk last time we called you into one of these. I'm sorry about that."

Aegis nodded and stood "Ma'am. It was a remarkably normal Monday. Gun Bunny, Taylor Hebert, was of course mobbed before home room. Then we had that no notice video assembly, they video teleconference all the classrooms, and she answered questions. Some of the more rampant speculation brought general ridicule for the tin foil hat crowd. We have had New Wave in school as long as I have gone there, people should really know better by now. It's not like Glory Girl isn't floating down the halls and living cape drama in front of everyone, the embarrassment from being laughed at kept all but the most hard-core tin foil hat crowd at bay. Battery Lordsport's thinker section has a timeline of the entire Endbringer fight, nearly by the second, at least from when they arrived. Very detailed, down to the consumables used. Gallons of diesel fuel, things like that. That seemed to occupy the more, well, the nerds."

The G2 nodded "My nerds too. Battery Lordsport posted it on their web site. Dragon has mirrored the site and PHO posted its content so it has stopped crashing due to demand."

Aegis nodded "Taylor said Battery Lordsport intended to provide evacuation type services and take long range shots if the opportunity presented itself. They didn't know Behemoth would act as he did. Or that their ammunition put him on some kind of time limit. She covered yesterday and last night's activities as well, they just intended to 'shoot some mooks, relieve a little stress.' Her non-lethal stuff is apparently much improved, she has been studying non-lethal munitions apparently, then they ran into the hammer and anvil operations Kaiser was running. Ryu thinks he is trying to regain face; the thinkers backed her up.

"I'm not sure what you are looking for Ma'am. Taylor Hebert is the same as she has been since she came to school. A quiet girl around those she doesn't know, and a mischievous chatterbox to those in her circle. Until you anger her, or threaten those she cares about, you would hardly notice her, aside from her height, she is nearly a head taller than her peers, and her excellent physical condition, she is, normal, unremarkable, average? Well average for one of the best looking girls in the school. Good luck getting into that circle though. Gallant could better inform you about that. Anger her, or threaten those she cares about, she is none of that, and you are in trouble. Between Gun Bunny, Hellhound and Panacea it's just a question of how painful it will be. Now Ryu as well."

Emily nodded "As the Fallen have come to understand. I don't know what anyone expected after that picture being posted everywhere, the whole Behemoth battle being broadcast live, then the way people have reacted about her once she was outed and it was confirmed, I dont think it was for her to be normal though.

"None of that changes the fact that she was instrumental in taking down the first and arguably most destructive, if not most terrifying, Endbringer. Obviously the PRT and Protectorate want her on side.

"Panacea's recent displays of ruthlessness are concerning. She does still heal though. Just not gangbangers back to full health. Which keeps them out of the fights. I can't decide whether that is strictly pragmatism or she is going a different way under Gun Bunny's influence.

"It is a bit of a concern that Purity showed up and rode around on the party barge for several hours."

Paul Renick shrugged "The Fallen and Teeth were violating the truce, they really should have known better. Battery Lordsport didn't even do most of the damage to them. The Empire, ABB, Coil's mercenaries, even the remnants of the Merchants joined in. Out of town teams were showing up. As for Gun Bunny and her behavior, do we even know enough about her to make any kind of judgement?

"Panacea healed everyone she could get to using Glory Girl and the Platform as transportation. At least enough to keep them alive. They really couldn't get through the Empire lines to the Fallen and Merchants. Not without heavier support from Gun Bunny, Hellhound, Ryu and the DWU. I'm not sure a Behemoth style battle in Brockton Bay is what anyone wants. I think kudo's are in order for Gun Bunny not escalating to her maximum level. She does have four actual S tanks now, who knows how long she could keep them supplied with fuel and ammunition.

"Estimates are the Fallen have lost all but the core members of two families and all the members of McVeays. Kaiser seemed to take first them coming to Brockton Bay, and then them breaking the truce, as a personal affront. The Empire, cape and normal gang members, were merciless. The McVeays were ripped to pieces, as were any who tried to assist them from the other families

"Knowing they were coming, we were able to keep civilians clear, and deprive them of the normal 'turn civilians into cannon fodder' tactics they employ.

"As we know Battery Lordsport spent yesterday assisting both the Lady Merchants and the ABB defending their territory in the Docks and Boat Graveyard. First with Hellhound being out, apparently walking her dogs, when she encountered the Fallen, frankly being idiots.

"As the day wore on various members of Battery Lordsport, separately and in teams, came out to see what was going on in town and ran into more idiots from both the Fallen and the Teeth. They were made aware of what was happening by New Wave and assisted in pushing the Teeth and Fallen to the north and west.

"Apparently, Gun Bunny woke up late in the day and wanted to get out of her apartment for a while. She has a base in DWU territory and is staying there as her house is mobbed, some kind of impromptu shrine. This put all of the Battery minus Squealer out and about. They mostly pushed through Lady Merchant territory and then set a blocking position at the edge of the territory near the dump.

"The wards asked for and received permission to join Battery Lordsport. Miss Militia's and Aegis's reports, backed up by observation on the ground, indicate that from the platform, without going to high velocity cannon, they can control five kilometers. With the cannon, depending on caliber, forty kilometers radius is not impossible. With Gun Bunny present they always have the option of armored support. Whether or not Squealer and the DWU have deployed her armored vehicles. They did not deploy those yesterday. If I were the Teeth, Fallen, and Merchants I might be insulted." He smiled as he got the expected dark chuckle.

"The Lady Merchants, ABB, and DWU set up in that blocking position supported by direct fire from the Batteries dominant position. The Police and PRT completed the encirclement. Kaiser ground the Fallen up against the Battery Lordsport, ABB, Lady Merchant and DWU anvil, the remaining Merchants were in that mix and fighting against everyone as well, few escaped alive, none uninjured. Mush and Skidmark are in custody in critical but stable condition. Thanks to Panacea, and Armsmaster's extraordinary efforts evacuating them.

"The PRT has sent out a law enforcement bulletin, and are actively pursuing the survivors of the Fallen, Teeth, and Merchants in each region as they are identified in the area. There is some hope we can finish them off, having broken their back here in Brockton Bay.

"Much the same, the Butcher fled, after most of her forces, including all the parahuman members of the Teeth, were either captured, killed or wounded. Kaiser was, again, unable to trap her. He has however already claimed the victory. Gun Bunny seems not inclined to force the Butcher to a final confrontation. Under duress from Panacea and most of the capes in the Battery. Instead she punished her, as did Miss Militia with non-lethal weapons at every opportunity.

"Operations were complete by twenty two fifty and Battery Lordsport dropped the Wards and Miss Militia off at the PRT building on the rooftop helipad before returning to their base. The PRT and elements of the Protectorate stayed on the scene to finish securing the prisoners and collecting the dead as well as beginning a forensic analysis. The preliminary results of which have already been discussed.

Aegis looked at Director Piggot "Anything else ma'am?"

Emily chuckled "So a normal Monday then. At least from the Wards. No, thank you Aegis. There is the matter of the debriefing and discussion with Battery Lordsport that was delayed until Wednesday at four. The Wards will be participating in that.

"OK, Armsmaster?"

Armsmaster nodded and brought a presentation up on the screen. "Battery Lordsport employed a novel technique against Behemoth. They used elements and metals known to poison fission and fusion reactions in the projectiles fired at him. We originally thought all the artillery and tank rounds. The Brazilian army did after all get in on the defense. More thorough analysis has shown that it was all the rounds fired from Gun Bunny's weapons in addition to the artillery rounds from Squealers cannon.

"It seems to have had the desired effect and disrupted Behemoths generation and transmission of energy enough to allow the higher-powered capes to affect him. And reducing his 'kill' aura. The combined effect forcing him to retreat early. It did not lead to Gun Bunny's desired effect of killing him as she expressed to Miss Militia. However, as a change to a broken plan it was very effective.

"It is unknown if this technique will work a second time.

"Of note, the same type of projectiles were used against the Fallen until she switched to non-lethal. Gun Bunny has not switched back to her normal ammunition. Her new THB alloy seems to be her projectile metal of choice. It had some odd effects on the Fallen parahumans that were hit with it, disrupting their control of their abilities.

"Gun Bunny has not sought out any credit for the performance against Behemoth, and in the two interviews since has given credit to the Triumvirate and Purity. She claims she was simply trying to buy enough time for the admin area and medevac site to be evacuated.

"Having reviewed the performance of Battery Lordsport and their allies I would like to propose we try to work joint patrols with them. Perhaps contract their thinker support to take a look at our operations. Contingent on them signing appropriate NDA's of course."

Emily nodded "That would be a nice way to get them a little more familiar and closer to us. Not to mention giving us armored vehicle support, which would be great for the Wards. I'll take it up the chain.

"Miss Militia?"

"I can't add to my written report Ma'am. Aegis is correct, she seems a completely normal girl, if that girl happened to like guns. I might be slightly prejudiced." Miss Militia smiled and got the expected chuckles. "I will say she seems extremely pragmatic. I would also note Purity has stated she has broken from the Empire. Anecdotally Menja and Fenja defer to Purity and are apologetic. Rune has complete faith in her and that she has left the Empire. It's something to do with Fenja, Menja, and Kaiser but they didn't discuss it, that is just a feeling from personal observations."

"Those observations are in your reports. We will see what the thinkers say. It will probably be mauve, magenta, or something equally useless. Your observation does back some low confidence human intelligence we have developed however. Purity and Kaiser were married, there was a disruption and divorce, probably involving Fenja and Menja, Purity was pregnant at the time, is pregnant now rather." Emily grimaced "So we have normal human drama on top of parahuman drama."

Even Assault maintained his silence and attention this time. Things were a bit too intense and moving way too fast right now. He had his work face on. At least for this meeting. Purity was a triumvirate level hitter as well, when she really cut loose, as she had proven against Behemoth.

Emily continued working through the elements of her Directorate "OK, Commander Sandersen, issues for your Strike Team?"

Aegis relaxed as the weekly staff meeting moved on from Gun Bunny and Wards type issues. He would have to thank Taylor. She kept Dennis so wary he wasn't even getting in trouble that much today, knock wood. His one attempt to freeze her had been met with flat, cold, glares, before he even touched her, and Panacea knocking him out with a touch. Her's lasted longer than ten minutes too.

Later that afternoon Emily was wishing something Clockblocker had done was being discussed in the PRT Directors weekly meeting. "So just to ensure I have a complete understanding of this. Bakuda has decided she wants to work with Gun Bunny on a way to kill the Endbringers and I am going to have the mad woman on my Protectorate team. She is actually wards age for another few months as she is a prodigy and went to Cornell when she was fourteen.

"She will be primarily tinkering however, and will not assume a leadership role when Aegis transitions to the Protectorate.

"Has anyone thought to ask Gun Bunny her opinion of this deal?"

The Chief Director, Rebecca Costa Brown smiled at her "We thought it should be you."

Emily closed her eyes "And if I quit instead? You realize the last time those two met Gun Bunny nearly cut her in half, with a machine gun?"

Rebecca nodded, still smiling "We have faith in you Emily. Plus, Bakuda will be run through Alexandria's program before she is sent to you. We just thought you should prepare the ground as it were." Emily glared at her. The meeting moved on.

Gun Bunny

Taylor watched Sherrel and her dad climbing all over the ferry they had towed into dry dock. The DWU had hired everyone they could and begun cleaning up and repairing the docks. The first four dry docks they got working again were now full of ships to be either salvaged or refurbished. Who knew you could get more than one in each dry dock? They were starting with the ones still afloat, in the worst condition, closest to the docks. The ones still berthed at the docks were being inspected, cleaned, converted, and refurbished at the docks. They were going to be used as work vessels until the Bay was cleaned up. She looked at Amy, then Rachel "I don't see it."

Amy nodded "I don't either. I mean they are both great but I am not seeing the 'spark' or whatever it is Vicky is talking about."

Rachel shrugged "Both nice. She's a little crazy. Might settle her."

Taylor shrugged "Grown people. Not going to worry about it. So, Bakuda?"

Lisa laughed and turned away from looking over the edge of the platform at Sherrel and Danny "Piggot would kiss you on the lips if you said no."

Taylor grinned and nodded "Yeah I got that feeling from the phone call and then the debriefing. Along with the feeling we are being courted so could get away with a no. But?"

Lisa sighed "The crazy bomber bitch might come up with something?"

Ryu shrugged "I can fry her if she is a problem."

"Aren't you supposed to be all demure and stuff?"

"My dad is a dragon and my mom was a trafficked girl. I never actually met her. The ABB took me away and sent me off to be raised. I was lucky? Good nanny's, a nice house on the south side. In the Arcadia feeder elementary and middle school district. It was nice. I grew up speaking four languages, besides English. I triggered because of getting punched in a cat fight I wasn't even involved in in seventh grade, at a festival in ABB territory. Then I met dear old Dad. It wasn't even that he was Lung and all Mr. Macho. He just wasn't there for thirteen years you know?

"So anyhow its 'I am Lung' I was 'well fuck you, I shoot lightning'." She grinned "Two of his drug houses, a brothel, and a bunch of warehouses he owned later and I was back in the nice house on the south side with the nannies. The PRT still doesn't know what that was. Got my ass kicked though. Fortunately, so did he. Left him at a stalemate. He is, was? Still is, trying to figure out how to 'reach' me. He settled in for the long game.

"Then you show up miss shooty thing, and well, here we are. He writes me letters, in Japanese, you know. Takes me an hour to read them. He is going to join the Protectorate, they made him an offer. He has to be available for Endbringer fights. Other than that, he is going to be at quarantine zones."

All the girls sighed. Taylor shook her head "So they just take on a sex trafficker because he will fight Endbringers. And they wonder why I won't join." The others nodded.

Lisa shook herself "So anyway, Squealer and Danny, go or no go?"

Taylor rolled her eyes "Do we have to try to set my dad up?"

Vicky nodded "Well yeah, the New Wave parents are still all around, Rachels, well we aren't going there, plus she has Danny for 'dad' things, same with Sally-"

"And my crazy ass bigoted idiot parents are still together." Heidi chimed in from the little stand she was driving the platform from.

Taylor looked around "I am so out, and when he asks me, I am going to tell him I thought it was a bad idea. Not because Sherrel is bad, but a bad idea in general."

Vicky snorted "Take us to the Mall Rune, Taylor needs more girl training. It didn't stick."

Taylor smiled "Swing over the dump and we can strafe the Merchants on the way by. Unless we are willing to piss off Kaiser and cruise over Downtown?" She looked around at the thoughtful faces.

Gun Bunny

Sherrel watched the platform cruising off and snorted "It does look like a zeppelin from underneath. So, we use the hulks and build ferries. A lot of the hulks have engines we can salvage and work over, or use for parts. What do you think, Five ferries?"

Danny was looking at the platform "It's the armor plate, plus you just clear coated it so it's that silver. Sure, we own them, pennies on the dollar for scrap. What if we ran Ferries to New York and Boston? Say four in the harbor here and four really fast ones between here, Boston, and New York."

Sherrel nodded "Fast huh?" She grinned "Water Jets. Big ass engines, maybe gas turbines in cogeneration plants. You do know how to keep a girl busy." Danny blushed. Sherrel gave an earthy chuckle.

In the guard house Tyrone took the binoculars from Mark "My turn!"


	10. Chapter 10

Gun Bunny 10

The truck careened around the corner wildly. The armored glass in front of the driver, Sherrel, had gone completely white as the plastic between the glass layers was heated by the multiple lasers in the ambush. normal glass attenuates lasers as well as anything, most people don't realize. The minigun had given way to a chain gun, and now, as they chased down trucks of mercenaries employed by Coil, was a seventy-six-millimeter compact Oto Melara sixty-two caliber gun. The truck was massive and had the capacity to carry the gun and its ammunition stores. It also had the power generation required. Lucky for them, really just flat good luck, as Battery Lordsport was really out to move some freight to one of Squealers new operations, a discount store in the docks, when they were ambushed.

Things had escalated quickly, as they had a tendency to do around Taylor, and now Gun Bunny and Squealer were fighting on the ground, Glory Girl was streaking into targets like orbital bombardment projectiles, and Laser Dream was more of a laser nightmare, doing her very best Legend impersonation, at least for the mercenaries being identified by Lisa and flushed by Bitch. The girls were not playing. The only way this could have possibly been worse for whoever this was would be catching them all in red week. Thankfully for Coil, they hadn't synched up yet. They were already quick to temper, felt very little need for restraint, and the Teeth, Merchants, and Empire had used up all their patience.

They were also driving on Coils primary base while New Wave took down one of his other bases and the Dockworkers went after another. The PRT was cordoning off the area and the Protectorate was joining the Dockworkers before moving to help elsewhere. The Empire was getting in on the act and encroaching on Coil's territory downtown.

Emily Piggot looked at the screen in the operations room "What possessed this idiot to try this now?"

The operations officer shook his head "Fear? The hard-core Merchants are handled and he is the weakest link?"

"Well, he doesn't get to ambush a PRT strike team and Battery Lordsport." Emily nodded tightly.

"Not without the cost being unsustainable. Jesus, Gun Bunny is apparently going to dig him out with high velocity high explosives." The intel officer shook her head. "Ryu is getting fired up and coming in on another vector, literally fired up. Lung wasn't this bad. No civilian casualties but that building they are going for is going to be slag."

Emily frowned "Why do I feel like we have done this multiple times?"

Tattletale's voce came over the radio "Because we have. Coil has two timelines he can either simulate or live through, and he can select the one with the best outcome. Unfortunately for him he tried attacking you, then us, then both together so far. All the outcomes have been bad. So, he keeps dumping us all back in the timeline we left? Are really in? Fuck, I hate this fucking guy!"

Emily drummed her fingers. "Is it possible we aren't doing this in one of them? If so, will that other version of you remember this and can you tell us who this idiot is?"

Tattletale replied "I'm trying."

Gun Bunny

Lisa sat straight up in the bed she was in. She looked around at the other girls in it with her. She crawled over Dallons, a Pelham, and Rachel as she scrambled out and then pawed Taylor's desk until she found a pen and a pad. Sally was snuggled into the back of Taylor, and had been sandwiched between Taylor and herself. Rune was sleeping on a floating sheet like it was a hammock. She could do that? Bah, later.

What she wrote looked like random scribbles, some in foreign languages, maybe cuneiform. After about a quarter of an hour she leaned back in the desk chair and flinched when Amy's hand hit her neck "Nothing wrong. Big shot of adrenalin, wearing off. Nightmare?"

Lisa snorted "Hard to tell. Fucking Coil. I think, well, we took the Merchants down. Being as the leadership of the ABB is down, the old anyway, and Ryu is with us, along with the Empire still sorting out what the fuck they are anymore, he got nervous and tried to ambush us, New Wave, the PRT, and Protectorate, separately, and then together. Somehow. His power, probability manipulation he calls it, I think it's something else. My power seems to be adjusting to it, maybe? If you guys don't remember any of this maybe it was a nightmare."

Taylor shrugged "Nightmare or not sounds like this fucker needs to go."

Vicky nodded "Best defense is a good offense."

Rachel scooted back against the headboard next to Taylor. "Dogs can track him."

Lisa nodded "Or anyone from his base, and we work through them one by one until we find him."

Ryu had sat up during the scribbling and shrugged "Or I can electrocute them all."

Crystal rolled her eyes, and added "We probably need to talk to the adults about this. He is a villain. The PRT and Protectorate have their hands full with the Empire trying to clandestinely move on ABB since them moving on Lady Merchant turf gets them shot up. The Nazi's will eventually figure out moving on the ABB gets them shot up too. Not very quick on the uptake for a master race. Anyway, the adults might want to wait or coordinate, I'm not sure it isn't a good idea. Despite the Endbeater and Miss Light em up, Eastern Seaboard 2010."

"Clandestinely, white guys with skintight flattops and swastika tattoos. Crafty white devils." Ryu grinned.

Taylor laughed then groaned "Plus, Dad will be all 'Training and practice together, build the team.' Arrgh!

"We did get a big ass base out of the deal though."

"Which we still have to plan the base warming party and sleep over for." Vicky added grinning.

"The clinic too. I am already doing a couple hours a day there on the critical cases. And the ones that can't get treated and released. That crowd seems to want to go back to work rather than get a day off."

Crystal nodded "The estimates on it are great, you should turn ten million this year on just the Medicare and Medicaid cases. If you would take the cosmetic cases you could probably clear a billion. Most of them don't get paid sick leave."

Amy sighed "And lose our nonprofit status. The Tax implications alone would be horrendous."

Taylor looked at Rachel. "We will send you in to talk to Dad."

Rachel rolled her eyes as Amy stepped over bodies and hipped her way to Taylors other side "You confused him with all that cryptic 'Dad' stuff. He doesn't know whether you are calling him Dad or pointing out he is acting like one."

Taylor snorted "Half the time I don't either. What the hell time is it?" She leaned forward and looked at the clock, it was after six. "Well, might as well get up and get ready to go, exercise and hand to hand today."

Vicky sighed "But we are going to the mall after that. It's Saturday!"

Lisa asked "Taylor, have you ever seen an Oto Melara seventy-six-millimeter, sixty-two caliber, gun?"

Taylor nodded like a bobble head "On a frigate that stopped in the Bay. Dad took me out on a visitor's day. That's about the biggest Navy ship that can get in here anymore. Was maybe? The container ship is about floated. That thing was so cool! The gun and mount. So was the frigate actually. Mark thirteen missile launcher and a forty-missile magazine, Mark thirty-eight Mod two autocannons, triple Mark thirty-two torpedo tubes with Mark forty-six or fifty torpedoes, two sets, the seventy-six-millimeter auto cannon, Phalanx systems of course! Mmm it was so good." She was panting a bit. Rachel pushed her down on the bed and kissed her. Amy took over as soon as Rachel had to take a breath.

Lisa face palmed "Oh fuck me." The other girls nodded.

Rachel grunted "Sherrel."

Taylor sighed "You too? Why is everyone trying to get my dad laid?"

"No, she can build all that."

Gun Bunny

"It's all a Simurgh plot." Everyone at the conference table turned to look at the huge black man.

Danny gave him a look "Really Tyrone?"

Tyrone shrugged "Somebody had to say it. I mean she dreamed it? It actually lays out fairly logically. Considering powers. What do you think Mark?"

Mark was Mark Hausen, head of security for the union. The conference room was full of DWU, Battery Lordsport, New Wave, ABB, and Lady Merchant alleged adults. "Pretty high ranked thinker. Super deductive reasoning, never been tested. Not far from there to precognition is it? Plus, Coil is a known villain and the facts line up. The hard-core Merchants are on the ropes, pretty much gone really, hours from oblivion. Or one more trip to a shooting gallery and its lights out on them. The Empire is pushing on them and the ABB at the same time.

"He doesn't get much traction on the ABB and who wants the dump?

"That right there tells you Kaiser senses weakness, as he lost Hookwolf, Cricket, Storm Tiger and Rune. Purity does her own thing, mainly blowing the piss out of the ABB, erh, well, she used to. Girl has a real hard on for traffickers. Ryu does too though. Those fuckers are still running around in Depends. She hasn't really attacked the Empire, but you know, it was her family, sort of.

"So, I am Coil, two groups of the five that might oppose me are on the ropes, two are stalemated on each other and never going to cooperate, one is just standing up, though hella dangerous and shooty. They are, from my Coil perspective, building an alliance with two of the others.

"Gun Bunny did a trick on Behemoth but it was really the Protectorate and others than made him go away, at least according to my sources. That effort Gun Bunny has put in that has worked, made a few of those talking heads on the news start saying that, and coming up with justifications. They don't seem to realize if she hadn't passed out, she could have kept poisoning him forever. Had to kill him off at some point. The majority of the talking heads shout them down though, and manufacture statistics to support their claims.

"Doesn't stop the worshippers at Danny's house every day. Common folk not as stupid as the elite think they are, without Gun Bunny, and Squealer, Behemoth would still be down there killing heroes in south America. Unless the golden idiot ran out of cats to rescue.

Jimmy Lee, the lead ABB council snorted "Plus the people on PHO totally saw through that crap on the news and put it in the proper perspective, except for the tin foil hat idiots."

Mark nodded and continued "Me as a normal, I would line up on the new group before they get fully allied with anyone else. Him as a parahuman, well megalomania is not unknown in the species. Fortune favors the bold, or whatever. So, I pull a Hitler and fight a three-front war, high risk, high reward, and it's just normie mercenaries, I can buy more. My secret identity is totally secure because I am that good. Oh forgot, Muhahaha!"

Sarah Pelham sighed "That is depressingly reasonable scenario. Stupid laugh and all."

Danny nodded "For a given value of super villain. Or idiot.

"We have at least established détente with the PRT, or reached a stalemate as the lawyers' claw at each other supervised by the court system. Which I am personally enjoying watching by the way. It looks like we have the high ground, Gun Bunny and Squealer mauling Behemoth gave it to us, and they are going to fold up and let us be an independent hero team. I mean they are paying those stipends and we are meeting their education requirements for the kids. I think we fill a role they can't.

"Which is the only reason we aren't all in the Protectorate or PRT. Say what you want, but Emily Piggot is a pragmatist. What we have to watch for is the PRT pushing us into situations where we would be forced to do more than what a 'reasonable person' would."

Sherrel nodded "We will work on gathering intel. Nip this little snake in the bud. The Undersiders were his parahumans and Tay took care of his heavy hitter and his thinker before they got up and running well, or gave them an out and had enough horsepower to back it up. Where did the other two go?"

Tyrone chuckled "Hooked to the end of a shovel for now. Apprenticing. That pretty little white one whines like a whipped dog."

"To court eventually. Like Rachel. Their chances are good. Alec had a master running his life. A bad one. Grue was nickel and dime stuff. After that, I don't know. I think Grue might do well in the Battery. Vicky or Taylor would kill Alec." Carol Dallon shrugged.

Sherrel shook her head "Maybe make a boy team, I am liking the all-girl groove in the Battery and I think they are too. Eric somehow just works with it, like the brother of them all, poor guy. The lone boy bunny. Doesn't mean we couldn't find work in the parahuman area for them though."

Tyrone nodded "Or outside that. Brian is looking at nondestructive testing and may be immune to radiation, or shielded from it by his power. Alec is really good at remote equipment operation. A natural even. They could be millionaires if they can get clearances to work in the nuclear power industry."

Danny nodded "So all we can find about Coil, and everyone be careful while we look."

Gun Bunny

In the Gap, at the mall, Taylor shuddered. Amy looked at her. She shrugged "I have a feeling we are not in control."

Rune laughed "Have we ever been?"

Taylor sighed "At some point we will be right?"

Amy huffed, handed her a top, and pushed her at the changing room "We are teenagers, we aren't supposed to be in control, now stop before you give yourself a complex."

Gun Bunny

In his impressive base of operations, under construction, albeit still impressive. There was salt water close, maybe the shark tank after all? Coil shook himself and ran simulation after simulation. He was trying to convince the Travelers to come to work for him. They refused and pointed out the blaster twelve running loose in the bay. Which was PRT PR bullshit and them sucking up to the girl. Blaster twelve! That was not possible!

No amount of pressure moved Piggot to touch Gun Bunny. Truthfully it wouldn't have moved him either. The girl was doing the PRT's job. Or a job they couldn't do really. Really it was Kaiser and the remnants of his Empire that were killing every other parahuman that came to the bay. The ones that didn't run straight to Battery Lordsport or the PRT. Or the PRT brought in to work with Battery Lordsport, like that tinker. They didn't even rebrand her!

The hands-off policy Cauldron had here meant he couldn't get help from them. One parahuman explodes onto the scene and years of work was in danger! Bah, not in danger, destroyed. Every time he simulated doing something to her, any of her friends, family, or Tattletale, she turned up and began digging him out of his base with high explosives. Lately with a damn navy deck gun!

If he let the simulation run long enough those dinosaur dogs of Hellhounds got in the base and ate, literally ate, everyone. Whether Hellhound was dead or alive.

If Gun Bunny were killed, he closed his eyes and shuddered at what Panacea was capable of. Glory Girl, Laser Dream, Squealer, Ryu. They had no idea when they were beaten and just kept on coming. It was the apocalypse, every single time. Really if any of them died. Gun Bunny had gone nuclear five times. After Brockton Bay was ash. Tsar Bomba nuclear. The girl was entirely too well educated about weapons.

There had to be some way to beat this. He ended a scenario where Glory Girl accelerated from a hundred thousand feet and turned his base into a crater. He started another with himself at home, and in both worked on the plan, writing down what worked in one scenario and creating a new plan in another. He would figure this out. He was destined to rule Brockton Bay! He ignored the inner voice pointing out Brockton Bay was a small to medium urban area of little strategic or tactical value, with, really, pretty shitty weather, in both timelines.

Gun Bunny

The Wards patrol ran into the armored vehicle and Kid Win blinked when Vista darted down from the roof they were on to the top of the APC. He sighed and let down on his hoverboard as she disappeared down a hatch. Hellhound, erh, Bitch chuckled at him, her head sticking up out of the drivers hatch. He slid over that way as Gun Bunny popped up in the cupola and the MG 134 appeared on the pintle. The troop hatch on the back opened and Vista hopped up to sit on the hatch rim with her legs dangling inside. "So, I guess I am calling in a joint patrol."

Vista waved him off "Already did. Called the PRT console, you know Piggot approves."

Glory Girl hovered up from the troop compartment lifting Amy by both arms and dropping her on the hatch rim. Rune shot her a glare as she climbed up grunting. "Thanks."

Glory Girl laughed then addressed Kid Win "Piggot likes having free armor support for her grunts."

Vista waved that off "Rune, heard you are free and clear."

Rune nodded "Didn't do anything too heinous after I got out of Juvey, before someone we know and love shot me up and someone else we love fixed me up again. Or was it dogs, or both, Hey! Anyway, I did not want to go back to that hole. Then I chucked the Empire first chance I got. Kaiser is a dick. So are the rest of them. Purity took off too. I even got a little stipend and school fees paid by the PRT."

Kid win nodded "Ward salary stipend. Heard they were trying to find her, offer a position in the Protectorate."

Rune smirked "Give her about another two, three months."

Panacea face palmed "Seriously? You are just saying this now? Text her to meet us after patrol. I'll check them."

Gun Bunny blinked and backed the conversation up in her head, sprinkled it with some other things they had talked about, then she counted the months in her head "No way!"

That apparently clinched it for Vista "Really! Oh man! Oh shit, Kaiser is going to flip out, weren't they together?"

Rune nodded "It's his. And yes, he is going to flip. Purity might need some cover."

Glory Girl nodded "We'll get Mom and Aunt Sarah on it."

Kid Win looked at the girls and sighed "And you aren't going to tell me either." The girls all gave him that grin girls save for when guys are being clueless.

Later as they parked and tarped off the APC Rachel looked at Rune "Nice."

Rune grinned at her mischievously "What." Rachel snorted and led them to the SUV. Rune knew she had set the Ward tinker up to become another boy bunny. She wasn't going to state the obvious


	11. Chapter 11

Gun Bunny 11

Danny blinked in surprise as Rachel, Taylor, then Amy, ran through the kitchen, doing two laps around the table chased by three barking dogs, oh, and the girls were in bra and panties, everyone, including the dogs, yelling or barking. He looked at Sherrel after the parade, rampage, whatever that had been thundered back upstairs "Your thoughts?"

"Wot?"

"How did you not notice all of that?"

"Oh, the girls, well Rachel hates bras. Can't blame her. Miserable things. Amy and Taylor don't want their girlfriend getting ogled so they make her wear one, keeps the pokies down, it is coming on to winter you know. Plus, its spirit week for homecoming, so you know, rah rah sis boom bah, hence-" she was interrupted by the back door slamming open and closed and a 'Hi Mr. Hebert, Squealer.' from a smiling blond before a wooshing noise indicated Vicky's progress up to the girl's room and the barking started again. "makeup."

Danny sighed, got up, and put more bacon in the frying pan. Sherrel looked at him with a smile that went all the way to her eyes and propped her chin in her hand watching him. He tossed "Uh, as much as I like that look, A. it makes me afraid and B. you could help." over his shoulder. Sherrel got up, stepped into his back and wrapped her arms around him and up onto his chest. "Hence why I am afraid."

Sherrel chuckled "We can wait until the girls leave." Danny turned the bacon smiling. Sherrel; still snuggled into his back started cracking eggs into a bowl.

"Dangerous." The two at the stove turned to look at Rachel, then broke apart standing hip to hip and working. Rachel nodded and started setting plates.

Sherrel arched a brow "No makeup?"

Rachel snorted. "Got away."

Taylor skidded into the kitchen and sat at a chair next to Rachel. Sherrel nodded "Nice, can hardly tell. Some lip gloss and you will slay."

Amy walked in and sat, on Rachel's knee, with Vicky following her and folding into a chair across from them. "Told you."

Taylor rolled her eyes "After breakfast. Hey Sherrel we are taking the Stryker."

Danny nodded "Gets around easiest, has enough room for you all, and your stuff, and you can do the M68A1E4 and carousel if Coil tries something.

Vicky nodded "After school and before the pep rally, we are going to go hunting, see if we can't find some of his jerks."

Ryu walked in at that moment "And electrocute them."

Danny face palmed "So tiny, yet so blood thirsty. Good morning Sally."

"It is, I would have been here earlier, but somebody tried to smuggle some girls in. I had to take care of them and him."

Rune walked in and sat on Vicky's leg "Shocking."

Danny laughed "It was for them I bet."

Sally grinned "They'll learn eventually. Maybe."

Amy shrugged "Hopefully before they all need Depends. How many do I need to fix?"

"Bah, none of them. It was early and I was tired from the run this morning. They'll be numb for a day and the cops have them now." Amy leaned over the table and touched her from where she had sat on Rachel's leg.

Danny looked around the kitchen then got up and started counting floor tiles "What are you doing dad?"

"We need a bigger kitchen for the gang, a bigger table too. One more boy or girlfriend and we will be out of laps. We don't use the parlor, nobody does anymore, formal living rooms are out." Rune looked at Vicky and made kissy face. Vicky shoved her off and she sat there hovering. She had charged her jeans in anticipation of that shove.

Amy nodded "Water or fruit juice, you are a little dehydrated Sally. No tea it's a diuretic." Sally pouted.

Danny brought her a glass of orange juice. "I'll get the carpenters and masons to come by. Should be easy. We can open the whole thing up to that picture window in the front."

Sherrel nodded "I got just the glass. Fifty cal proof. Now that the crowds of gawkers have died down. Or organized. Though I could make it one way. Who did that organization thing. I know it wasn't us.?"

"The mayor, he was tired of having to commit so many police to crowd control. So, they put in that overhead cover on the empty lot next to the Matthews, paid the DWU to put it in really, the parking too, and advertised walking tours. He also changed the bus route to come down our street, so now they can have a guided tour from the cover, or take the bus to the stop in front of the Williams, do the walking tour, and get on another one in front of the Jones house, or vice versa. There's a pamphlet." Danny informed them "Pretty smart, election soon you know."

Sherrel nodded "Had to put cameras and whoopy lights on all the rides. Freaking tourist everywhere. Between the End shooter, Miss Electric, and Miss Cure all.

"Hey, Taylor, I got some DU, I am going to plate your rides. I did some work on the power plants, transmissions, tracks, and suspension, so I think we can add twenty tons to them. Got a sweet space laminated armor array the other day tinking around. Took away that rear driver to get room to shoehorn a bigger piston engine in and modernized the turbine. More power, lower fuel consumption, and less weight. It will be cool. Add fuel cells to the outside instead of those cans and they should be up to modern standards. Then, if that works, we will upgun them to 120's. I'll start with the three tank. It has the weakest power plants. Once I do that I think I will get a co-generation plant and wheel motors. I almost got it now. I mean we got turbines already."

Taylor nodded "Do I want to know where you got DU armor plates?"

"It fell off the back of an army truck. Well maybe five army trucks. Never be able to use it all up. They were semi's, tri axel tractors and trailers." Everyone froze then cracked up. The girls finished breakfast and trooped out. Sherrel listened to the sweet growl of the tinked Cat C7 as she led Danny upstairs. He grinned goofily.

"Taylor, you know Sherrel is…" Amy watched the helmeted head bopping blithely, leaned over, looked, then poked her "Plug your CVC in!"

"Nope! Lalalalala!"

Everyone laughed and the travelling circus hammered through the streets towards Arcadia high school, civilian cars got out of the way and the drivers smiled and waved. Jealous faces followed the progress of the Stryker from behind bus windows. None of them realized the thing had barely gotten warm before Taylor parked it. Today was not an open troop hatch day. They locked the hatches, checked themselves, fixed their helmet hair, checked the three dogs with them, and left through the troop door in the ramp, then locked it. They were mobbed, as usual, on their way into the school. The Wards watched grinning. No one cared about them or their identities anymore. There were now six out cape's attending Arcadia and three of them were super heavy hitters. Nearly Triumvirate level. The other three were no joke, a Master seven, an Alexandria package and a Shaker eight.

Gun Bunny

The bright white streak shot down from the heavens and landed on the van, or the bedrock under it rather. Legend sighed and brought Alexandria her cloak "Hold my cloak and watch this? What the hell Rebecca? At least wear the Nomex."

"It works. Glory Girl is a genius. That was the Nomex, it is fire resistant, not proof. Now find me that bus with the rest of the nine and we will finish this today. Fuck Manton and his fucking projection."

The horizon lit up and Legend sighed "Or she has an anger issue, seems to be going around. I suspect you are too late. It looks like David found the rest of the Nine first. Well, he gets closure for Hero."

Rebecca, Alexandria, snorted "Yeah closure. He will be drunk in that museum again Paul."

Paul, Legend, nodded "But now maybe he can move on." He looked in the distance "You think he is going to toss Crawler in the sun like he said he was?"

Rebecca looked "Either that, or drop him on the survivors from altitude. If there were any." I can't wait to do this to the Elite. Gun Bunny and the girls killed the Fallen and gutted the Teeth. They are the biggest problem children after the Nine."

Paul frowned "Contessa and Doctor Mother are going to flip."

"Yeah, well, fuck them too. They sent us after the fucking Siberian. Let's see how her path likes some pro-active Protecting."

Legend shook his head looking at Rebecca "You know, those two were right about the experiment. Someone did take over Brockton Bay and is ruling it as its undisputed queen."

Rebecca smiled "Yeah, I wonder how Calvert feels about that?"

Paul shrugged "I think it won't matter what he thinks in a couple of weeks."

"The little insect does have a knack for pissing off those who can stomp him." Rebecca laughed.

Paul shook his head "Come on, let's find David and go get a drink. Then we are going to have to talk to Doctor Mother and Contessa." Rebecca's smile morphed into a wrinkled nose.

Gun Bunny

Taylor shot the mercenary off hand, he was behind her. Sally snorted and lit up five of them. Vicky plowed through the, fortunately off, air conditioner of a high rise and emerged from the other side carrying what was left of a sniper.

Rune circled down behind Vicky who carried her prisoner to Amy, who was already checking the other ten on the ground. "A full squad. He has to run out of these sometime soon."

Taylor opened her mouth and Lisa came up on the net from the Stryker idling down the street toward them as the crowds closed in again from where they had scattered. "I got his money, well most of it, so sooner than he thinks. It's a pretty freaking mess. We are probably going to catch some serious heat over it. From the states involved as well as his criminal contacts. Should net some pretty serious coin when the dust settles though."

Taylor looked around and opened her mouth again and a girl shoved a pen and autograph book at Rune. Taylor snapped her mouth closed. Rune signed the book then looked at the girl "Who to? Justine? Really?"

"Hey! It's the hometown collection. Just Rachel left now." Rachel whistled to the dogs and they eyed Justine alertly. Justine threw her a pout "Don't be like that Rach!" She very boldly walked over past the dogs who wagged their tails at her and got scowled at by Rachel "See Brutus and the gang love me. Now, on this page. Then I saved these for the dog's footprints. I dont have an inkpad though." Rachel signed and then paged through the book looking at a page for each of the dogs with their names on them. She gave Justine a nod. Justine beamed.

"Hey!" Taylor finally managed. Justine turned and grinned at her "I'm not a band bitch. You're safe."

Sally chuckled darkly "They aren't though. I wonder how they would like to be incontinent, permanently."

"Oh please do! I mean really! They are just jealous, not that they know what they are jealous of. Although you hear stories."

Vicky rolled her eyes "Like the ones they are spreading about us?" She hung up the phone "Cops will be here 'soon' they said."

"They are busy, you all, the Wards, I mean all, New York and Boston too, the Protectorate, The PRT, New Wave, and the DWU over in the boat graveyard. You all have been going hard since lunch." Justine looked at the girls.

Taylor shrugged "Coil is an ass."

"Hmmph, well this better be your last if you want to make the rally. Hey can I get a ride?" Justine batted her eyelashes at Vicky.

Vicky huffed "What the hell is it today, did I coordinate especially well or something? First Rune, now you Justine?"

"Hey! That's how these rumors start!" Rune interrupted "Not that you aren't looking tasty."

All the girls laughed at Vicky's blush. Justine snorted "Please, every minute of you all's day is posted online. You don't have time for wild drunken orgies the band bitches wish they were having, unless you picked up a better time manipulator than Clockblocker. Even at your houses the cameras are always on. I don't see how you do it."

"Ignore it as much as possible." Taylor told her before turning to talk to the harried police sergeant that had driven up. Amy started briefing the paramedics that arrived shortly before him.

Later, after the Stryker was parked in its customary two spaces Justine looked around and laughed "So a partially naked orgy, not much orgy though. I love this thing. I need one. I wonder how much it cost? It's like a dressing room and hang all in one."

"It was surplus. An interim vehicle. The army didn't own the tech data so they let them go first of anything. GDLS took it in the ass over not giving the army the tech data. They charged the piss out of the government for mods to the tech data though. That also had the effect of holding down modifications and the vehicles were getting long in the tooth. No A1 or anything. Short sighted on GDLS's part. Then the US pulled out of everywhere and, well. The troops call them Kevlar coffins. They really aren't that bad but they are a little light on the armor. We bought them for scrap weight price. Squealer tinked ours. No idea how much she would charge for one. They are pretty cool." Rune looked around "What? I dont just fly the Death Zeppelin."

"Or its sports car cousin, which is new and you haven't said! Come on, how can I be the girl in the know if you all don't tell me things?" Justine asked her.

Rune went back to getting changed with a snort. Amy frowned "Hey, speaking of that, you aren't afraid of being seen with us?"

"Why? Oh, no. Everyone knows those bitches are full of shit. Hmm, they might be interested, You, Taylor, and Rachel need to be careful. Vicky is on again with Dean, Rune, well no offence but, none of our guys have nutted up that far. Sally and Lisa just cut them to ribbons with words." She paused "Or not words and do us all a favor."

"Permanent incontinence, herpes simplex twelve, eaten by dogs, or shot dead?" Sally asked. They all cracked up. Even Rachel laughed pretty hard.

As it turned out Sherrel was right, a little lip gloss and they all slayed that evening. Justine, Theshadowknows (girl in the know about Battery Lordsport) (verified know it all) included. The cheerleaders laughed at the sour notes from the band. The Wards stayed in their pack of males watching the apex predators play. Minus their sacrifice, Dean, Gallant of the Wards.

Gun Bunny

Sarah Pelham chuckled at Danny and her sister Carol "Relax, jeez, they aren't even going to the dance with anyone and every move they make is on YouTube. I see you looking at your smart phone Danny. Let them be girls a little."

Carol sighed "You say that now. I remember when you were a wreck about Crystal. Where is she by the way?"

Sarah snorted "At the game and going to the dance. Her boyfriend is a senior remember?"

"Boyfriend! I should be so lucky. Amy has two, girlfriends, not that I mind the girl part, but two? How does that even work?" Carol took a long pull of her wine. "And Vicky is like a yoyo with Dean, or a light switch. That child needs to make up her mind!"

Neil, Mark and Danny looked at each other and practiced their married men sympathetic faces. Sherrel snorted at them and Sarah chuckled when Carol just glared. Neil shrugged "I just wish Eric would finally decide. Proud of the boy, I mean he is killing them, both sexes, but doesn't he have to pick one?"

Lorraine shook her head "Don't try to impose binary sexuality on him. Let him be. He will decide one way or another. Erh let him be as long as he isn't hurting himself or others. If he is, bring him down here and I will shrink his head."

Carol turned to her "So we are your Cape Parents group session?"

"Oh thanks! I can bill it like that! I was just between clients. How is Amy doing?"

Mark smiled "She and I are both better. Still baby steps, she fixed some damage, but the chemistry is still screwed up so she adjusts it every morning."

Lorraine nodded "Clinical depression is a pain in the professions ass. There is hardly ever an obvious physical cause. If she finds one, she can make millions. Of course, the drug companies will try to kill her for it. It's a cash cow for them. Some of the crap they pedal even works, sometimes."

Danny laughed "Only if they all decided they want to die horrible deaths. Taylor and Rachel?"

Lorraine shook her head "All the girls. You heard that dream of Lisa's. They would all go all out."

Sherrel walked in and sat next to Danny "Damn right! Group session over? Can we talk about meeting with Piggot now?"

"The operators and lawyers are already joined at the hip. Why are we meeting her again? Oh, oh hell no, you can't just have her healed." Sarah shook her head.

"If she leaves, we are going to get a new one, not Rennick, probably not Armstrong. The rest of them are dicks and we would have to educate them. Probably the hard way. If Taylor didn't kill Tagg in the first meeting Sally would. Better if she is here a while longer. Meanwhile she gets sicker every day." Sherrel looked around at the nodding heads.

Sarah sighed "Can we finish with this Coil prick first?"

"Not to be optimistic, but Mark Hausen thinks he is going to do something soon that will expose him. Plus, from the message traffic Lisa has robbed him blind." Danny tossed out.

Sarah nodded "And not many people want to come in here right now. Other than the tourist. What is the deal with Purity? I mean without her the Empire doesn't have ranged powerful capes. With Hookwolf, Cricket and Storm Tiger still off the field they are mostly, well not tolerable, but certainly not the Empire of a few months ago."

"Losing normal members all the time too. Sally doesn't play around. Taylor either, but she is mostly non-lethal now. Though not non-crippling come to think of it." Carol added.

"And Amy is still making everyone she touches allergic to illegal drugs and somehow less likely to abuse alcohol. I still don't know how she does that. There has to be some common element? We don't prescribe meth or heroin but the opiates, pharmaceutical ones anyway, still work on patients. We have to talk to her about nicotine next. We can save some of that three hundred billion in smoking related cost to the economy. And nearly the same on alcohol cost. The eleven or twelve billion for drug related cost isn't peanuts but she can make a bigger difference." Lorraine told the group.

Danny smiled "I'm pretty sure you just have to mention it to her, she will figure it out."

Charmaine arched a brow at the discussion apparently winding down. "And Bakuda? You know that's what Piggott really wants to talk about, getting her fully healed and her working with Squealer and Gun Bunny. Let's not forget about Purity wanting to join the parent's group and Max Anders son to have play dates with Battery Lordsport."

Danny waved her off "It'll work out." Charmaine appeared skeptical.


	12. Chapter 12

Gun Bunny 12

Sarah Sato, Bakuda, watched as the S tank crept, nearly silently, from the workshop. "Why an S tank? I mean it has limited elevation and depression?"

Taylor snorted "People think that but really its range of vertical movement of the gun muzzle is as good, or better than in the case of Russian tanks, than most modern main battle tanks. It's the turret roofs that get them. Well, and the turret baskets. Anyway, I don't know, I was reading about them, watched some videos online and then got in a fight and needed a tank. Pow, there one was.

"These ones the people of Sweden gave me. They were the last production models and were pretty sexy. Then of course Squealer, and well, they are way sexier now. Probably about maxed out though. At least without being tinked and then only a tinker being able to maintain it. Now Sherrel tinks the stuff, some DWU guys watch and record, then figure out how to do it, or at worst maintain it.

"There are a bunch of Swedish people running around here helping. They are applying her mods to their fleet in reserve."

Sarah nodded "So you don't have control of your power either, at least not in what it gives you. That making something you have seen on video, and read about, which then works is a bit different. The things turning permanent too."

Rachel chuckled "She only reads about and watches of videos of A 10's and C130 Specters now."

Sarah whistled lowly, "Those are cool. Now what is the deal with this alloy of yours?"

Taylor shrugged "Accident really, or the part about it disrupting Parahumans control of their abilities anyway. We are trying to figure out why and how to improve that effect. Anyway, I had done some research about Behemoth, he seems to be all about radiation, and I stumbled across some articles about poisoning reactions. So, I made an alloy of the metals that poison reactions. It worked on him, a little anyway, and the side effect or an additional effect is disrupting the connection between a host and their powers."

"Host?"

"Oh boy, here we go. Hey Rachel, while they braniac, want to go beat up some mercs?" Heidi asked.

Rachel shrugged and looked at Amy. She leaned over and interrupted Taylor with a kiss and gave Sarah a significant look before getting up.

Sarah watched her go "Your girlfriend is a bit possessive." She looked back at Taylor where Amy had scooted closer and had her left arm in a hug. "Both of them. How does that even work?"

Lisa sighed "Just leave it. They don't know. Now what do you need for a lab?"

"I am staying here?" Sarah looked around at the PRT sergeant and three troopers with her.

Lisa nodded "Gets you out of Piggot's hair, makes you our problem, and gives her plausible deniability if you build a nuke."

Glory Girl shrugged "Lets you ride around slapping the crap out of morons."

"I like that part of the deal. I wasn't going to build a nuke. So passé. Anyway, I was thinking about the Grey Boy traps. I got a thing that does that and I think I can make it not do that."

Lisa laughed "And we get half the money because you are using our lab space and resources. You are going to fit right in. Hey can you make it a projectile? Taylor wants to go hunting."

Sarah blinked "Jesus, hunting what? Oh, S class. Yeah that could work. I bet Mannequin can't get out of it either. Don't know about the Siberian though. That naked zebra bitch is invulnerable to everything so far. Rumor has it neither one of them will be a problem again though."

Squealer leaned on the tank after hopping out of the hatch and onto the ground "That Reccaro seat is the bomb. Yeah, well Lorraine has a theory about her. Plus she hasn't appeared in a week or two. Rumor control is the Triumvirate threw a party for the Nine. Finally. I wonder if they took the bounties. I mean they are already rich from the past bounties on S classes and gifts from their Endbringer fights. As soon as we deal with Coil we will lift and shift to those S class asshats. If the Triumvirate leave any."

Lisa nodded "Which may be soon. The Protectorate is working him over hard now, and he is out of liquid assets. Even the Wards are taking down the mercs he got in now."

Taylor shrugged "We got enough to do here. We need to think about restoring the Bay and cleaning up the environment around here."

Sarah grabbed her head "Oh man. So many plans!" Sherrel and Amy nodded and fanned themselves.

Gun Bunny

Thomas Calvert sat in his office looking at the computer screens. It was time to move. He had lost consistently for weeks. Every time he thought he had adjusted a white-hot streak left a crater. Sometimes, many times, taking the timeline with it. Leaving North America seemed prudent about now. He started his timelines again, one evaluating properties in South America and one evaluating situations in Africa. He had his overseas assets still.

Gun Bunny

Doctor Mother scowled at the three giggling Triumvirate members. It was as if they had reverted to school children. "Fifteen potential chances at eliminating the threat, gone, vaporized even, and you are giggling?"

David turned to her "Your plan didn't work, we are trying a different one."

"And putting all of our eggs into one basket. A teenage girl, still not power tested, who displays no concern about anything aside from making her home town 'better'."

Legend nodded "Although I would say getting a good start on killing Behemoth is a little more than untested. Plus, she blows the crap out of gangbangers, remotely even. There is no way eighty-year-old ladies, nearly dead from osteoporosis, shoot those hand cannons she passes out. They can't even stand up, well, until Panacea gets a hold of them for a minute. Anyway, I think her powers are pretty well tested." He sobered "Moving on, have you made any progress on helping the case fifty threes?"

"I have, no, I have started studying the problems." Doctor Mother appeared disgruntled.

David nodded "Meanwhile we need to shut off testing, we can still sell powers, we will need the funding to help the victims of our experiments, but we won't be testing new formulas. Perhaps on condemned prisoner volunteers, that will have to be studied." Doctor Mother opened her mouth and he cut her off "Yes, yes, three, no four, most powerful parahumans yada yada. Contessa lucked into her powers, a natural trigger really, if in an odd way, and you got lucky with the first batch you made. We should have stopped you then, instead of letting you turn into Mengele.

"Now get busy fixing what you can. Bonesaw can help you once we get her adjusted to a more normal condition. We should have killed Jack years ago, all of the Nine."

Paul smiled at the suddenly tense Number man, a former member of the Nine "Are you faster than light Harbinger? If so, try your plan. If not, well, go back to being Number man and making money for us to use to help the case fifty threes."

Alexandria looked at Contessa "Nothing to say? No path to victory here?"

Contessa shrugged "This is the path to victory."

The others all looked at her. Doctor Mothers scowl darkened.

Gun Bunny

Sarah looked up as Taylor came in the lab, unescorted by her girlfriends finally. It had taken a week to prove she wasn't a threat. They trusted Taylor. They didn't trust anyone else at all. At least until they got to know them. It had been a pretty intense week. "Hey, Behemoth is all about energy, Leviathan water, and Simurgh does some kind of communication. I am thinking a super desiccant or freezing the water at zero degrees kelvin for Leviathan and chaffing Simurgh with some of your alloy. Say one round in three being a proximity fuzed chaff dispenser filled with your alloy as a nano powder. The rest being kinetic solids of it."

Taylor nodded "Squealer has her artillery pieces too. Maybe put the nano powder in them mostly and give me say five rounds of it I can select for. I want to try her on the penetrators you have been working on."

Sarah smiled and nodded "Easy to get ready by February if they stay on schedule. How are classes?"

"Me, what about you, miss doctorate in every discipline possible?"

"We are already doing the work, might as well get the credit." Sarah grinned. "I got those penetrators up to fractional C with that new breech of Sherrel's. The feather duster and gecko are in for a shock."

Taylor nodded "We have to work on coordination for the brutes and fliers. Getting the civilians out too. The shockwaves alone are going to kill people within a K."

"What do you think about remoting a gun, orbital platform for the Simurgh and, crap, well orbital for the Simurgh?" Sarah asked.

"Worth running up the flag pole. How are you on the time buster?"

"Ready to test. Boston they picked, it's political. Waiting on the Protectorate and PRT to get a plan together." Sarah replied.

Taylor sighed "Everything is political. I wish I could still just shoot people."

"Preach sister. Now if I can figure out how to make a nano powder of hafnium without the crap going up in smoke. I found a deposit of mineral sands and Sherrel built me a thing to mine it out so at least it isn't going to cost us a fortune to get it from Australia anymore."

Taylor chuckled "Or you can show me how to make nano powder and I can make it for you?"

Sarah facepalmed. "Goddamnit. Oh well the thing gets gold, silver, hydrocarbons, coal, iron, titanium, aluminum, all kinds of useful shit."

Taylor frowned "You aren't going to turn Brockton Bay into another Centralia are you?"

"Um, no?"

"Sarah!"

"No, it will be fine. The machine travels underground and the tunnel behind it caves in. Maybe sink the area a few centimeters, possibly, but erosion does worse. It isn't actually removing anything but the useful stuff, sort of refining as it goes. So, no big holes in the ground and no mine tailings. It won't light fires, probably." Sarah waved her hands palm out. "We can monitor it, it sends data using ultra low frequency radio. Trails a wire behind it that it makes as an antenna. Lays the wire really.

"We kind of stole the US Navy ELF station they don't use. Thing is amazing, of course Sherrel had to rework the power plant for it. Made it a lot smaller and we sell power to the local grid now. Gas turbine in co-generation being fed with shale gas the miner thing finds. It has a portal of the teleport system onboard."

Taylor frowned "That's where she went last week. Tinker stuff needs maintenance."

Sarah grinned "Awful possessive of your toys. It has arms and we can do maintenance remotely, even build new parts. When it dug into the ground it was the size of a microwave, now it's like bulldozer sized.

"The power plant isn't even really tinked. Just made cogenerating and all the heat is used. The exhaust comes out at like thirty degrees. C. And we mine the exhaust stream for useful gasses. CO and nitrogen oxides are useful, the unburned hydrocarbons go right back in the fuel stream. She was installing the one on the other end. They have to be miles apart."

"If it trails a wire why didn't you just hook to that?"

"Goddamnit! Oh well, we will work on it, and use the ELF for a backup."

Taylor nodded "Maybe you tinkers should meet with normal people on the plans for your toys. Or modifications to people. Amy is trying to eliminate periods."

"Man that would be cool. Hmmm, how would you shed the uterine lining? Yeah, that could be a problem. Have to do some systems analysis. The man sucked as a plumber but we might suck worse. Maybe some testing too. You are probably right. Charmaine and the girls at the Velvet Spread can be on the murder board. Some pretty high-powered women in that organization."

Taylor grinned "Taking a shift? I mean you are eighteen now."

Sarah got an evil glint in her eye "My tiger mom would flip the fuck out."

"Or read up and study, then come coach you in how to be the best earner."

"Urgh, that's put me off sex for a year. Why are you being bitchy to me?"

Taylor laughed "Sorry. So, want to go shoot some boneheads? We can round up the girls and take a ride."

"Sure. I got the undo grenade ready for the time stops, we need to test it anyway. Lots of pressure from some senator about going to Boston. Kennedy, I think. He has a niece stuck in one of the Gray Boy areas. I didn't even know he was still alive, didn't he have cancer?"

Taylor nodded "Amy made four million dollars making him healthy, a few of his buddies 'from both sides of the aisle' as well. This country's political landscape is locked in stone now. Amy got a contract with the Secret Service to be on call, million bucks a year to sit around and answer the phone if they need her. We got some money for the Battery too to 'provide security' for a 'national asset'. Like I would let some fucker hurt Amy. Anyway, dad, Carol, and Sally's lawyers, are geniuses at raping the government by now."

"Or any of the rest of us be hurt, you big softy. When they get around to releasing me from probation, I am joining the Battery rather than the Protectorate. As for raping them, they would just blow the money on some bullshit huge international airport in the middle of Pennsylvania that serves two flights a day. Like the Amish are going to fly."

"I know, right?"

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at Sherrel "So Coil upped stakes and trundled off to Africa?"

Sherrel smiled at him and wriggled her hips "I should be insulted, you thinking about that when laying there."

Danny smiled "I'm not nineteen. While I am apparently capable-'"

"Oh I know, very nice"

"I have to rest a minute."

"Ha! Your three to my five. Here roll over and I will drive a while. And yes, that's what all reports we have indicate. Oh, and he is Thomas Calvert. Piggot is apparently furious. I think she is wasting her time. I doubt he will survive Africa. Place is a disaster. Meanwhile she has Armsmaster interviewing everyone, apparently five questions. 'Do you work for Coil? Do you report any PRT or Protectorate information to any sources?' Like that. She got the questions past the Union. He has tinked up a lie detector apparently." She looked down at Danny's face and giggled "So I still got it huh? Cat got your tongue?"

"Oh my god! Going out!" Sherrel smiled as the door slammed. Time to get serious. Sixteen years was enough gap, and who could ask for a better sister than Gun Bunny? Or Aunts than Panacea and Bitch? Oh, they should get a Hellhound! Oh! Fuck cervix, damn, excitable boy, time to pay attention.

Gun Bunny

Amy looked up from her position pinned to the couch and felt of her swollen lips "Uh, not that I mind Taylor but-?"

"Sherrel is loud."

Rachel sat up from where she was resting further down the couch with their legs in her lap. "Get her something nice. Good thing you have an apartment."

"Bah! She already has dad. Apparently, that's pretty nice. Oh my god! Brain bleach!" Amy smiled and patted Taylors back as she dropped her head into the crook of her shoulder.

Lisa stood outside the door with her fist stuffed in her mouth bent over at the waist with her butt on the wall. Heidi stuck her head out of her room "What now?"

Sally walked out of Heidi's room "Duh, what do you think." Lisa waved her hands at them then held a finger to her lips shushing them.


	13. Chapter 13

Gun Bunny 13

Sally flounced into Taylors room, after giving the girls a minute for Taylor to get over skeeving herself out, "Taylor what are we doing?"

"Right now, or like existentially? Well I am trying to figure out how guys do that one handed bra unhooking thing. Which may be a sex-based skill by the way. More generally we are chilling before we go patrol, or do some hand to hand training, or whatever is on the schedule. Hey!" Taylor put her hands over her boobs.

Rachel grinned "Not sex based."

Amy hooked Taylors bra through her shirt "Thanks. Hey!" Taylor grabbed her boobs again.

Amy nodded "Definitely not sex based."

Heidi walked over "Let me try." Taylor sighed as she became the bra unhooking training aid.

Of course, things had to go sideways, Danny walked in "No pinch, then slide Sally. Why are you girls practicing this?"

The girls all froze then Sally cheered. Taylor wrapped one arm across her chest and sighed "Bored?" She realized her mistake as he focused "We were chilling between things on the schedule and it came up."

Danny nodded "It's like the arms race, designers make them more complicated, because girls' gripe and guys practice. They can't make them too complicated or girls bitch about that too."

Taylor arched a brow while Rachel hooked her. "How do you know this?"

"Guy, had a wife who was like, the bomb. She wasn't afraid to talk to me about stuff. Got a girlfriend now?" Danny shrugged and then winced at the squealing.

Gun Bunny

Sherrel was doing some wincing of her own as Lorraine questioned her closely. "Lorraine! What the hell?"

"We got a great thing going here. We are so far from where we were when the Merchants were operating no one can even see it anymore. You can't play with Gun Bunny's father. I'm just making sure it isn't play."

"What?"

Lorraine rolled her eyes "If it was one of the girls, fine. He and she could fuck themselves raw and Taylor wouldn't care. You though. Well, it means something."

"I'm not trying to replace Annette!"

"No shit stupid. That's one of the reasons why it means something. Just keep going like you are. Before you get deeper though give it some real thought. We could still save it now, but not if you, and Danny, get any deeper."

Sherrel sighed "I don't see how."

Lorraine rolled her eyes "Taylor isn't stupid. Plus, she is a bit busy, she has two girlfriends, and they are all trying to figure out what they are doing. You two need to figure it out, and commit to it, or just leave it at casual sex."

Sherrel huffed "Well that leave it isn't happening."

Lorraine sighed "All possessive, see!" Sherrel groaned and fell back in the chair she was sitting in.

Gun Bunny

Taylor slumped in a chair in her apartment, sandwich and soup, not forgotten, but not being paid attention too. Rachel was slumped on the couch with Amy. "We have to find out who we pissed off and apologize."

"Rachel! Nice!"

Rachel looked surprised at her sudden lapful of Taylor. Amy giggled "Talking, see it is good for something." Rachel rolled her eyes.

Sally walked in, followed by Lisa and Heidi. "Sorry to break up the snuggle fest, but what are we doing?"

Taylor shrugged "Being teens? Well, aside from training like Special Operators, running patrols like the Protectorate on speed, and getting the tops of our heads opened and encyclopedias poured in by tutor who are hookers.

"We have a plan for most of the big threats. The patrol schedule keeps the riff raff at bay, and some of the proposals I, we, are funding are really helping the area.

"I would say city but the jobs are drawing in people from all over, even if the schools haven't started yet."

Sally blinked "They all got up and running? Wow, wait, that wasn't actually that fast was it. It's been a month, more even, and they started with accredited facilities, even if they were a bit dated. Now they have all the instructors they need and the facilities have been improved. People will come. Think about it. You can take your degree in liberal arts and get a job waiting tables for minimum wage or get a trade skill and start at twice that.

"If you just have to do liberal arts after that, take a night shift and go to school during the day. Then once you have your core requirements you can get a degree in hard science, medicine, law, engineering, math, whatever you want."

Rachel looked up from Taylor and Amy who were wrestling on her "Aren't we doing all that? I mean minus the trade school. Kind of got trades, shooting, dog training, healing, electrocuting, flying death zeppelins, and whatever it is blondie does."

"Hey!" Lisa's exclamation was wasted as Rachel had gone down in a sea of giggling kisses. "What the fuck is even happening right now?"

Sarah nodded "Preach sister."

Gun Bunny

Vista appeared on top of the Stryker "Hey!" she smiled at the greetings then frowned at the grimace from Tattletale, who was driving. Rather aggressively truth be told. "Who peed in her Wheaties?"

Gun Bunny snickered "We all did. It's been a bit pick on Tattletale today. She was getting awful full of herself. Finishing everyone's sentences. We'll make it up to her. So, what's up?"

Vista shrugged "Not much. We, the Protectorate side, were a little concerned some of us would be moved, as it turned out though, the Triumvirate is after the S class threats hard and that made the less than S class kind of anxious, restless, something." She shrugged "So we are keeping a lid on and landing hard on everything.

"We are pretty busy. We the Wards, because the Protectorate is busy in the region rather than just Brockton Bay, so we have Brockton Bay, well with you guys and two PRT strike teams. New Wave too."

Gun Bunny frowned "Maybe someone should have told us about this?"

Tattletale had drifted to a halt in the Stryker, pulling over to the side of the road. "They couldn't put out much information. They are still checking their people for infiltration from Coil. In the process they turned up lots of other, not spies, people with divided loyalties, or just people being careless with information. Turns out lose lips do sink ships. Well you know."

Ryu groaned "And an Endbringer window is coming up soon."

Tattletale nodded "We'll get to see if the truce still functions."

Rune laughed "We'll be fighting. Squealer got the teleporter to large scale after Gun Bunny had to use it to get around for a week. Hausen updated his plans. Did you know the military had a drill? They call it an EDRE. Acronyms, right? Anyway, we will get a briefing tonight, but if you get the codewords 'lariat advance' on your HUD or over the radio get to the DWU area.

"Sarah, while not preaching to sisters, has made a bunch of rounds for Squealer and designs for you.

"Meanwhile we are holding the line in town, yeah, bit of a surprise there."

Gun Bunny shook her head "No control at all. And this is why it matters."

Panacea nodded "Yeah, this is a bit much. Time to have a talk with the adults."

Tattletale shook her head "They don't know it's like this. What we need is better coordination, tighter. Better communications between all the groups would be a start, then, if we wanted to push it, a unified command structure." She moved the Stryker out and Vista got handed a headset so they could continue the discussion over the intercom.

Gun Bunny

Danny groaned sitting in the meeting. Miss Militia echoed him. As did Captain Sanchez for the PRT, and Sarah Pelham for New Wave. Captain Sanchez recovered first "This has been noted in other regions with independent teams. None of them have S class hitters in their teams though. Brockton Bay has two, and a S class mechanical tinker. Plus whatever kind of tinker Bakuda is, besides crazy. It is being wrestled with in the other regions. I think we have to cure it fast here though."

Danny nodded "Let's look through what they have come up with and try to start with the best practices that have worked."

Sarah shook her head "We have to get buy in from Gun Bunny and Panacea too remember. If they just give it lip service it isn't going to work."

Sherrel spoke up "While Calvert ran off to Africa, hope he gets some monkey disease, Kaiser is still around. Just saying."

Danny nodded "Though the Empire is much diminished. Gun Bunny shooting up the group. Purity forming her own, not Nazi group, which isn't a criminal organization, more a bunch of vigilantes by the way, and us hiring everyone that can stand up, hear thunder, and see lightning, while trying to find jobs for those who can't, put a serious hitch in his get along."

Mis Militia nodded "Purity needs to be brought into this as well. She is being successful fighting off criminal charges and paying settlements for property damage."

Mark Hausen nodded "Lawyer is a Marine. All kinds of sexual harassment, coercion, and other he she stuff experience on top of criminal experience. Plus, you know, officer, so politics. That prosthetic leg and eye patch doesn't hurt either, jury's lap that up, she says." The others blinked.

Carol finally nodded "Yes, Major Stetson, retired, is surprisingly effective. The patron saint of lost causes. Right now, she is using the people who owned the properties criminal activities against them. The fact is Purity wasn't shooting up places that weren't involved with criminals. As Kaiser was involved in most of it, well she has managed to turn most of it on him. Plus, Purity is happily giving evidence."

Captain Sanchez nodded "And Kaiser has disappeared. Most of the Empire has."

Danny snorted "Arrest Max Anders, not like everyone doesn't know."

Mis Militia nodded "However we are attempting to make the truce hold, so we have to work through the investigation. Not act on what we all 'know'."

Gun Bunny, who had come in with Tattletale shrugged "Or I can just shoot him next time he sticks his head out."

Miss Militia smiled "Nessa and Jessa Berman went to Purity."

Sherrel chuckled "I bet that was a fun spanking." The women sitting around the table chuckled with her.

Gun Bunny snorted "OK, back to business, so how is this coordination cell going to work." Lisa grinned and rubbed her hands together.

Danny sighed "Freaking thinkers."

Gun Bunny

Vista sighed riding in the Stryker. "It took the fun out of it when it got all official."

Rune turned around and winked at her, then the Stryker lifted off the ground and rose about three stories in the air. Lisa took her foot of the gas and glared at Rune. "Showoff." Vista laughed as Clockblocker and Gallant white knuckled the hatch rim.

Flechete dropped onto the Stryker from a nearby roof "Take the left, pick it a little to avoid the pedestrian bridge at the Chelsea market. This area is gentrifying but it's still pretty rough. Only the edgy hipsters in here right now, mostly they stay in at night unless they got cars in the garages attached to the buildings. The gangs like to play. We should be able to put you on some targets."

Lisa set the throttle lock at twelve hundred rpm and put the transmission in neutral running the generator up to speed, then engaged some controls. Flechete's HUD made some tinny noises and she grinned "Stealth, cool. Clockblocker, Vista, ready for the slap em down?"

Vista grinned and nodded. Gun Bunny pouted "I don't get to do anything anymore."

Vicky shrugged "CQC with the shotgun?"

"Not with Slappy Gilmore along."

Lisa looked at Clockblocker "Hey, that could work on an Endbringer."

Dean looked at the ghostly pale Clockblocker "Told you they would think of it."

Clockblocker groaned "Because they fight Endbringers like it's another day in Brockton Bay."

Sally shrugged "Lung. It kind of was."

Flechete looked over from where she was standing on top of the Stryker "So supposedly he is going to the next fight."

Bitch nodded "Plea deal, has to."

Flechete looked at Gun Bunny "You are so freaking lucky."

Gun Bunny grinned, or communicated a grin past her bandanna like Miss Militia "That's only half of how lucky. The other half is over at MSK and Weil Cornell. Thanks though."

Flechete gave her the poked-out tongue and a smile. Then changed the subject "So trials on the Grey Boy areas in Boston tomorrow."

Gun Bunny nodded "Yeah, our tinker is ready and the shitheads are mostly beaten down."

Clockblocker had recovered "And complete and utter bullshit is what Battery Lordsport does."

Kid Win looked at him "Dude, you stop time, in a tiny little area, and it doesn't use all the energy in the universe, the theory of relativity isn't even a suggestion to you. Complete and Utter bullshit is what you do. Gun Bunny shoots shit. Her rounds at least follow some laws."

Rune high fived him. Clockblocker stuttered and Gallant patted him on the back. Bitch winked at Rune. Flechete caught the wink and grinned, these patrols were going to be a lot of fun. Plus, Ryu and Bakuda were Asian too. Yeah, this could be really good.

Gun Bunny

Max Anders looked over the quarterly P&L and blinked. He went back over them again. Apparently with the no show job salary's being down seventy percent Medhall was making money hand over fist, totally legitimately.

He turned to the projections and did a doubletake, oh, new drugs in the pipeline, real drugs, not illegal drug trade drugs or their precursor chemicals to be 'stolen' from Medhall production facilities. Holy crap, that was a lot of money, oh. Patented. Damn, were these people always able to do this if they weren't making designer illicit drugs? Wait, some of these formulas were really close, and using the same chemicals. Well damn. Had the geeks been holding out on him?

He tapped his fingers, he could take the company all the way out of the illegal trade. If he had enough time, he might even be able to sufficiently able to muddy the waters to stay out of prison. And he wouldn't have to run off to Africa like that coward Coil. Where was Victor?

Gun Bunny

Coil sat aboard the former assault carrier he had bought for scrap and had repaired. He was cruising a racetrack course out from Lagos Nigeria, or the former Lagos Nigeria. It had been called something else by the warlord that had had control of it. He drummed his fingers. He would take it back to Lagos. Later he would take the country back to Nigeria. It attracted him by having one of the best ports in Africa and having a high population. On paper. He turned and looked out the windows of the bridge at the miles wide column of smoke rising where Lagos was, that population was unfortunately getting much smaller. His mercenaries had the bridgehead now though. He could bring in his construction teams, the ones fucking Tattletale hadn't gotten to, the international ones, and start rebuilding this hell hole in his image. Neat and orderly.

Accord's price had been steep, ten million dollars up front, knowledge of his abilities, and twenty percent of the gross as determined by Accords Ambassadors in his own finance and accounting department. It was however a thing of beauty.

It even accounted for the Boers. The blacks in South Africa had done themselves no favors when they started to murder the whites. Most of them had triggered and made the Empire 88 look like pacifist. They took everything all the way to Angola and purged it of people who weren't white enough before one of the Boer capes build a twenty-five-hundred-foot-tall basalt wall all the way across Africa and out into the ocean until it disappeared under water. Now if you weren't white as they liked you didn't get in. Period. Although they let the Zulu keep their kingdom? Fortunately, they didn't come out from behind the wall, and if you were not white and landed in an airplane, or from a ship, they just held you at the port and put you on the next thing leaving. Apologizing the whole time "Sorry, it's the law you see. Can't be helped." Very polite people. Stubborn as mules.

Of course, if you tried to attack them or their wall, well, they started with some excellent artillery and went all the way to nuclear weapons. Plus, capes of course. The Zulu helped them.

Nigeria did butt up against the Sahara in the north and Ash Beast did roam there, but the plan simply put irrigated crops there. Water being one of the main resources being warred over in Africa, one of the first things he had to build was the largest Solar desalinization plant the world had ever seen. Sea water in, fresh water collected from the steam, hundreds, thousands, of elements, metals, minerals, and other things collected at the other side. That would turn a profit immediately. Profit meant more mercenaries, so did water probably, which meant more territory, it would turn exponential at some point and he would own Africa. Better weather than New England also. Fuck Brockton Bay. If it weren't for the damn mosquitos and all the diseases it would be paradise. It would be when he got through with it anyway. Accord had figured in controlling the diseases and their vectors.

Coil turned back to the long-range plan as the instance of him in the CIC kept working the local and extended range tactical operations. He had the whole of the howling nightmare that was central Africa to insulate himself from the Boers, until he starved the natives out after locking up both coasts. He might have to be content with Africa from the wall to the Sahara.

The attacks in Djibouti, Mogadishu, and Mombasa had gone as well as this one. The US really did build quality material for their military, like these Wasp class assault carriers and all the material that went with a marine battalion and the ship. Including the aircraft, too bad they ran out of the political will to use it.

He smiled, nice they sold it for pennies on the dollar as scrap though. Demilitarization agreements with no inspections, what a bunch of fools. They could have owned Africa twenty years ago, instead of fighting extremist in the Muslim countries. Most of those only had oil anyway, and if you burned coal instead you didn't need oil. As a nano powder it flowed like oil. Trainwreck was a handy young man. Plus, Gun bunny and her very interesting THB alloy. He looked to the bloody spot in the water showing where the latest African flying cape had tried the Phalanx systems. "Damn those are some big sharks."


	14. Chapter 14

Gun Bunny 14

Taylor hugged and kissed Amy and Rachel. The students filling the cafeteria didn't bat an eye. After the craziness of Valentine's Day, well a kiss instead of seeing the death zeppelin floating over town with music and a light show before it set course and sailed out to sea and out of site before returning in the wee hours was nothing. Everybody knew anyway right? Nobody cared, well some homophobes, but who cared about the one percent? Sally smiled. Her phone buzzed and she pulled it from her back pocket. She groaned at the 'Lariat advance' displayed there. Other students' phones buzzed then the Endbringer sirens got spun up into the away attack warning. It had been such a pleasant Thursday and Taylor was going to - "Fuck this! Whichever one of these it is dies this fucking time." She trotted off with Amy and Rachel following her. Sally sighed, yep, Taylor was going to do that. Fucking hell. She heaved herself back to her feet and trotted out with the others trying to keep up with Taylor's long-legged stride and catch her before she went S tank and tore off to the DWU.

Heidi chucked a rock and hit Taylor in the butt at the end of its gentle curve. Taylor turned around, 1911 in hand and Heidi snorted "Rides over here. We won't have to deal with traffic." She broke right to where the platform was sitting on one of the outdoor basketball courts, or across the three of them really. Battery Lordsport, the part that attended Arcadia piled on and Heidi lifted off.

They arrived at the DWU and set down. Sherrel ran up "Simurgh, Canberra." They groaned and Purity landed. Sherrel relayed the message to her and she grimaced.

Taylor nodded decisively "Let's lift me first. Panacea too." The S tanks all F models by now, extensive DU armor, fuel tanks as part of the layered armor, turbine only, wheel motors instead of transmissions, and up gunned to 120 smoothbores, drove over.

Sherrel nodded "Set a base. She is still deorbiting. Five kilometers at least from where we think her target is."

Taylor frowned "Let's go further than that. I want to do a thing and you have your new thing."

Amy nodded "OK, you arrange that and eat anything I hand you. It's going to be sweet, so don't freak."

Danny appeared and got the briefing Taylor was typing into a laptop as an operations order, Dragon, Lisa and Sherrel were helping her as they all scrambled madly. Fifteen minutes later the platform lifted and flew through the portal, then made a circuit of the tallest buildings in Canberra Australia, from tallest to shortest leaving 5/62 Mark 45 turrets behind. After doing the ten tallest buildings she had Heidi move her out five kilometers and put in another ring and then finally one more as the sirens sounded and Battery Lordsport deployed through the portal at speed. The people of Canberra watched in awe as they scrambled to get away.

Fifteen minutes in and with the Simurgh fully committed to her attack Amy looked at Taylor and pulled her head in for a burning kiss. Rachel watched the snitch, well glared at it really, then took her turn. Heidi grinned and flew off as fast as she could, low and max performance. Momentarily losing the snitch. They dropped Amy at the support site as the Protectorate arrived and the Australian capes got their shit together. Dragon brought them arm bands. All of Battery Lordsport hesitated, then put them on. Heidi raised the platform after the PRT liaison jumped on and Taylor covered it with bushmasters. These were 40mm in mark forty-six mod one mounts. Four of them down the centerline of the platform. She put a gun control station by Heidi and one in between the two center turrets for the PRT Liaison. "Forties this time, give you more range since the bitch likes to throw shit."

Heidi nodded and Rachel spoke up "Drop me and the dogs in the middle of town. We will clear to the outside in this spiral pattern."

Taylor nodded "Watch for shell casings."

Rachel hugged her as Heidi flew in to drop her and the dogs in the swirling maelstrom of armored vehicles that had charged into Canberra and were busy loading up with people. Police were busy keeping the flow of traffic out only. "Going to try it?" Taylor bit her lip and nodded. "If you shoot yourself down, I am going to spank you, not the fun way either." Taylor smiled and kissed her. She whistled, looked and then leapt over the side. Heidi shook her head and started a tight spiral for altitude.

The PRT liaison cleared her throat. "Try what exactly? Taylor moved forward to the front of the platform and Rune's cobble stone pavement. She followed looking up trying to see the Simurgh descending "Look you girls are great OK, but if we are going to try some shit like you did in Brazil can you clue me in now so I can at least attempt to salvage my career?"

Heidi laughed "Gun Bunny has been practicing a new trick."

The liaison nodded "OK, what is it?"

Gun Bunny smiled and pulled a helmet out of a box near Rune. The PRT liaison gaped at the flight helmet and then shook her head as a G suit came out next and Taylor started stripping as Rune turned the platform to keep the snitch from seeing, all the while gaining altitude. Finally, the liaison turned and went back to her center gun director, while desperately trying to talk to someone in charge of the PRT response.

Taylor laughed and sat down on the deck pulling the G-suit on over the flight suit. She stood and turned around. Heidi zipped her in and checked her out. "You know we don't know what is going to happen if you suck down a cloud of that freaking dust you are shooting with the big guns."

Taylor nodded "Or that Sherrel is going to shoot. They flinched at the shockwave of one of Sherrel's projectiles passing them and turned to look up. They saw the explosion at sixty-five thousand feet and Taylor nodded and opened with the five-inch guns. "Just get under me with the platform if I eject, and the plane doesn't reform, like in practice."

Heidi glared at her "Amy is going to give me permanent pizza face if you break your ass bone again like you did that once."

Taylor snorted "Let the seat clear me before you scoop me up. And remember, this is a real parachute so cut it free before it drags me over the side if I am out."

Gun Bunny

Dragon got the call from the PRT liaison and put her on with Legend and Director Costa Brown. Legend sighed "Dressed like a pilot and the platform is still gaining altitude. Dragon?"

"G-suit, so a jet of some kind?"

Costa Brown grunted "Don't we have liaisons with each other to prevent this kind of thing?"

Dragon shrugged in flight and watched Taylor dive off the platform and become an A10 Thunderbolt II. "A10, at least a C model. No external stores. No drop tanks. So, I guess she wanted the GAU 8."

Legend watched "Flying into that cloud of crap around the Simurgh won't be good for those engines."

Dragon nodded "Nano powdered THB, how do they keep it from burning I wonder?"

Alexandria flew up "Keep the flyers back then."

Dragon nodded "They can't get above thirteen thousand feet anyway; her ceiling is forty-five and she is nearly there. The guns got everything above her covered, hopefully she has enough control of them to time out her runs and not fly into her own flak. Saving fuel is not something she seems to be concerned with. She just firewalled it and took off. Let her fight down to ten thousand feet before we jump in. Battery Lordsport ops, any suggestions?"

An exasperated Danny answered the radio "No this is something the girls cooked up. Your plan sounds like it will work. How will that effect the people hearing the scream?"

The Triumvirate blinked and Dragon shrugged "She doesn't normally start until she gets to about two thousand feet. Her range is about five kilometers though, well, that we can verify anyway. It is the Simurgh though so…."

Danny chuckled "Have you met Tyrone. He thinks everything is a Simurgh plot too. I'll have to introduce you two. What about poisoning from the THB?

"Taylor is just yelling at the top of her lungs when we try to talk to her. Singing maybe, if you want to call that singing. Apparently, she loves flying. Glory Girl says she's a natural. Apparently, they have been out over the ocean dogfighting and having Rune throw rocks at her. What? No Amy it's not comforting she stopped crashing and Rune hasn't hit her in two weeks. She is going to make the THB go away before it gets on anyone? I'll get back to you Triumvirate. Oh, she can land now and every-" The radio cut off.

Alexandria snorted "Fine, let me go get a wave of heavy hitters ready for when Gun Bunny is through."

Legend nodded "I'll help with search and rescue and join in when you signal as usual."

Gun Bunny

Leet groaned as the snitch desperately tried to keep up with Gun Bunny. Uber, on the cameras, nodded "No sweat man, we got long enough lenses. Too bad we can't get a better angle though, steer south and keep climbing. We missed her changing too. Lots of comments on the stream about that."

Leet looked at another computer and laughed "Another network picked up the feed, we are going to make a mint. Even after we pay Gun Bunny to keep her lawyers out of our asses."

Gun Bunny

On the ground Ryu looked at her father, snorted lighting from her nostrils and took wing. He roared and took to the air after her. Purity looked at Lady Photon and arched a brow. Laser Dream shrugged "Absentee father, tried to recruit her, she took over instead, all that crap, family drama. Come on let's go, I want to get away from that cannon of Sherril's, where the hell did she get a sixteen-inch naval rifle, and how did she do that carriage? It looks like a M65 Atomic Annie on steroids. What are those, Cat 797 haul trucks as the prime movers? Thing is loud even five miles away."

Lady Photon looked at her daughter "Are you even going to class or are you just hanging out at the Battery?"

"Both, distance learning. Plus, tutoring at the Battery by the Lady Merchants. Four point oh, you got the last transcript." Laser Dream rolled her eyes.

Purity sighed. Lady Photon nodded as Laser Dream led them up and to the west "Yes, get all your cuddles in now, from fifteen to twenty-five they know everything."

Gun Bunny

Gun Bunny snap rolled, brought her reticle to center mass and pulled the trigger. The Simurgh took the burst center mass as the BRRRRRRRRRT noise of the GAU eight cannon firing went on and on for all thirteen hundred fifty rounds in the thirty degree dive she had taken up before snap rolling away, flying through the air in just her flight suit and parachute for a split second, and then settling at the controls of the new A10 she had manifested. The five-inch shells covering her by detonating as their proximity fuzes told them to with impeccable timing. The cloud of THB powder from three hundred rounds and one of Sherrel's AP THB Capped making a direct hit distracting the Simurgh.

Gun Bunny pulled around and to the right firewalling the throttles again, the planes always came to her at cruise power settings for some reason, and looked at the Simurgh. Who appeared to be stunned and falling, trailing smoke. She kept working for altitude. No way was it this easy.

Gun Bunny

Glen chambers screamed "No!" At the PRT agents who came to get him as he was screaming and jumping up and down on his desk, while watching the monitors on his wall showing the major news network feeds. All of them showing the dog fight over Canberra. Black puffs of flak in a clear blue sky. The distinctive shape of an A10 wheeling over into a dive, and the Simurgh flapping almost all her wings and turning into the diving attack aircraft. All in 1080P HD.

"If you don't calm down sir, we are going to foam you."

Glen sat on the desk cross legged and stuffed his fist in his mouth. All this needed was John Wayne looking into the sky and making a patriotic comment in that growly voice and the PRT would never recover.

Gun Bunny

Gun Bunny watched as the Simurgh's wings snapped out and she took off in a zoom climb, she had the angle though, and drug her reticle on target and let off a two second burst in a deflection shot. She cheered as the Simurgh rolled but still lost a wing.

Gun Bunny

Dragon calculated the wings path and notified everyone where it was going to land. Alexandria took off after the wing. Eidolon went with her. Legend stayed on Dragons wing.

The constant Brrrrt every few seconds and the mad cackling over the radio really the only thing anyone needed to follow the dogfight that had erupted over Canberra between an apparently crazy girl and an Endbringer.

Dragon chuckled "Well the Airforce will never try to get rid of the A10 again."

Legend nodded "You see the Simurgh smiling, don't you?"

Dragon nodded "With her arms stretched out, and I think she is making airplane noises, like a propeller driven airplane. At least that's what I am hearing instead of the scream."

Legend sighed "Gun Bunny isn't really hurting her."

Dragon shook her head "Oh she is. Tattletale pointed out she is turning one spot, low in her abdomen away from the gunfire. If Gun Bunny can stay with it, she may eventually do some real damage. She keeps making new planes though. That cloud of THB Nano powder is not helping her either. It does seem to be hurting the Simurgh also though. Let's pass the location to everyone in the blaster waves. Once Gun Bunny is out of the fight let's see if we can hurt the Simurgh enough to make her leave."

Gun Bunny

Taylor wasn't laughing anymore. She was sweating buckets and barely hanging on to the airframes long enough to destroy them. She smiled when Lisa called her on the radio "You are clear for Lazy Dog Gun Bunny. You pushed her far enough and the ground under you is evacuated farmland."

"Roger, stand by for Lazy Dog."

Gun Bunny

Dragon turned her head to Legend "Make sure no one is near the Simurgh.

"Gun Bunny, Dragon, what is your CEP?"

"Dragon Gun Bunny, five clicks, Lazy Dog dropped. Fifty seconds."

Legend looked at Dragon, she nodded "All of ours are already clear of that. Gun Bunny's shooting and the THB cloud covers more area than that." Legend arched a brow and Dragon shrugged "A sub orbital drop of thousands of dumb bombs, as I am reading here, in this case an ounce each of THB alloy. A lot of them, a thousand pounds worth. Dropped from a hundred thousand feet. Someone had been reading too much."

Legend frowned "Will it work?"

Dragon shrugged "It worked in World War One and the Indo China war. This is probably all Gun Bunny has left."

The Simurgh watched the airplane roll over and line up on her and went into the tight spiral to defend her core. This had been fun, but she knew the parahuman inside the plane was done. It was too bad really. Though she could probably leave soon, this had already been an excellent fight. The flak, the dogfight, those massive AP rounds, plus keeping father busy with falling pieces.

She shrieked mentally as hundreds of projectiles of that interesting alloy blasted deep into her. She lost sight of the near future and was sad to see the opposing pilot hanging limply in her parachute in a minute. She was surprised, a wholly new feeling, when she was blasted with all kinds of energies from a hundred different directions. Lightning, wow that actually hurt. Fire, lasers, oh the invulnerable woman, and of course father had to show off. Ouch, what was that? Wow that spinning helix hurt. Well it would hurt in one of the humans. She was taking a lot of damage though.

She picked a clear vector and fled to orbit examining the future. A future in which father flew away furious and attacked the energy manipulator in the desert, and her partner in the dogfight landed safely on a flying platform. Father was furious. She would have to relay this to the brothers. Oh look! Her partner in the dogfight had friends. Oh, the lip touching thing! My my, two lip touching friends. She rolled over in orbit and oriented down as she conducted repairs and watched the show below her. She was tempted to look a few hours into the future. The lip touching looked like it was going to proceed to some of the naked rubbing. The internet was so entertaining, this was much better though. After all, she had played a major part in this. No wonder the oldest was so content scheming away down in the core lately.

Gun Bunny

Coil shut off the feed as it cycled back through the last two minutes of the fight and the 'experts' began giving commentary. Leaving that benighted, miserable, cold, hole had been the right decision. No if he could get these idiots in Cote d'Ivoire and Chad to give up, everything could proceed according to plan. That one female A10 pilot, she was knowledgeable and had been truthful in her praise and criticisms of the silly girl. The girl could have saved herself several aircraft. You could see the tears in that pilots eyes every time another was destroyed.

Gun Bunny

Kaiser looked up at the cloud of dust blowing away over the country side as it faded away, and nodded. It was time to work a little harder on Medhall being legitimate. This Gun Bunny was a bit much. Especially with the Triumvirate and now PRT just crushing villains.

Gun Bunny

Lung looked at Ryu "You have made good allies." He turned and walked to the PRT area. Ryu looked after him for a long moment before turning to where Rachel and Amy were trading Taylors face between them. Someone needed to take charge and get everyone home. She nodded and moved toward the group throwing a lighting bolt at the snitch. It exploded. Those three needed a room too.

Gun Bunny

Leet screamed as if he had been hit. Uber shrugged "We should have given them their privacy dude."

Gun Bunny

Emily Piggot sighed. She got on the computer and started issuing orders to cancel all leaves and call in everyone for overtime. All the Fallen weren't dead, or in prison, just most of them.

Gun Bunny

"Yes, Prime Minister, she is fine, exhausted. Yes, they have a portal and can come back for an award ceremony. Last time it took her a day or so to recover. I will have director Piggot speak to them sir. They may stay, Panacea likes to help with clean up.

"None, no casualties at all? Traffic accidents, two thousand of them, a bunch of idiots hit with five inch casings when they got to close to the guns, thousands deafened, and nine heart attacks. Well she may still stay. I doubt she would let Gun Bunny be moved far from her in that case. Well yes, I think they would appreciate rooms in a hotel. A lot of their people have work tomorrow though. Yes, the DWU, the people driving the armored vehicles. Yes the Longshoremen's union. Ha ha, yes sir, labor voters no doubt.

"Well, Brockton Bay is, or rather was, a tough town. Ah so you heard, no Lung will not be staying.

"Thank you, Prime Minister. I will talk to Battery Lordsport and ask them to link up with your liaison officer." Meredith, Alexandria's body double, hung up the phone and picked up another.


	15. Chapter 15

Gun Bunny 15

"I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid!" Amy looked up wincing, but smiling, as she sat out under the roof the Australian Army had erected over her on the parking lot. Sort of a pole barn, long and narrow. She was standing at the end, just in the shade and before the disinfectant mist containing, conditioned air curtain. Outside, fifty yards away was a lane for busses. She lay her hands on the two new patients that were wheeled up, first the one on her left, then the one on her right as she healed them talking about what she was doing while nurses and doctors recorded what she said.

"Your Shelia is cracked Miss Panacea. We love her, all of you Battery Lordsport people really, though. Does she land ever?" The patient on the left, an older gentleman asked.

The speaker beside Amy carried on with "I can open your eyes! Take you wonder by wonder!" Nearly drowned out by the roar of two turbo fans pushed as hard as they could go, while Taylor dove on Rachel and her enormous dogs in a fake gun run, as they darted across the open ground beyond the parking lot, before swooping back up until she stalled and fell off on her port wing. "A whole new world!" Taylor's voice cracked and warbled horribly and the older female patient on Panaceas right cackled and patted her hand. The nurses and orderlies laughed and pushed the gurneys along, then helped the patients off, and sent the gurneys with the orderlies to pick up more people after they were sprayed down with seventy percent two propanol solution (seventy percent isopropyl alcohol, a poison made from one of the byproducts of oil refining and natural gas processing.) as another was brought up on each side of Panacea.

Vicky landed and walked up to Panacea down the middle of the two lines of beds that snaked out from under the temporary overhead cover and under a line of tents or tarps strung between post roped to stakes pounded through the asphalt and into the ground. Lines that had run back and forth across the parking lot in that typical pattern seemingly designed by the best engineers in the world to provoke rage in those forced to stand in them. Or in this case lie. Though the people on the gurneys did have an orderly with them and a nurse with every three or four. Doctors watching over three or four nurses. It was an amazing system really and its throughput was enormous, none of that helped when you were the one waiting. She stepped around the cluster of empty buckets, orderlies and nurses arranging the materials with the patients as they came up and the doctors estimated, from experience now, what Panacea would need to treat them. "Not many left now. You are going to run out before we get Taylor to stop flying that plane. You are through with all the casualties and the Australians are bringing in any terminal or untreatable cases from all over the country. They think they will have them all here by tomorrow."

Amy smiled "As long as she doesn't start over with 'Can you feel the love tonight' from the Lion King. The patients always have a comment about that one. It's embarrassing. They sing along with most of the princess songs. If Taylor had a voice to match her enthusiasm, she wouldn't need to shoot people."

Vicky grinned "The DWU guys and Australian Army put up little blue tooth speakers on every pole and have a radio broadcasting on Wi-Fi. Taylor is crushing iTunes. Someone is streaming her to there. She gets royalties, like a real rock star. She is number one through eight in Australia right now and in the top twenty worldwide. The patients seem to enjoy it. Almost as much as they do when she rips the wings off her latest manifestation. Or when they disintegrate in flight. It's all Oooh Ahhh. Taylor doesn't get never exceed speeds. Good thing that big ass Gatling gun has her addicted. I would hate to see what happens if some fast mover falls apart on her at like mach millions."

Crystal came up carrying a tray of burgers "Seriously. We need to go over the manual with her again. They like the gun shows too. Someone is streaming her to video as well. Amazon has that stuff. I checked, they did the registration and she get's royalties for that too. Her, Rachel, and the Dogs, Heidi as well when she does the dogfights with the zeppelin."

Amy nodded "I wish she would stop doing those. She and Heidi are going to miscalculate. That and the dodging the flak barrage she sends up at herself or Heidi. Even though it's that colored powder, those rounds still have burster charges. The kids like it, but it makes me nervous. Those five sixty two's are going to be permanent if she keeps them manifested much longer."

Heidi walked over with a can of Fanta for each of them "Not as much as they like her running up that ramp and jumping off the side of the government tower and becoming a plane on the way to the ground."

Amy sighed "I nearly wet myself when she did that the first time. Why did Sherrel build her that ramp anyway?"

Heidi shrugged "Bored Tinker? We have been here three days. Taylor didn't wake up grinning and run off flying at every opportunity until yesterday? The DWU has cleared any damage and gone home to work. It's just you healing now. Well Taylor flying and ruining peoples hearing. That ramp is actually some kind of armor between those turrets, over the magazines for them, or where they are going to be built. Maybe the power supplies were going there? I forget, anyway its real light and generates a force field." She shrugged. "The Australian government is going to pay her for the guns apparently, if they go permanent. They want Taylor to study this rocket projectile, ECRM or something. Damn things got forty K's of range now. Why would they want more? If the five sixty twos don't stay they got some five fifty fours in those same mark forty five mounts."

Ryu nodded to the people on their gurneys as she walked up the center of the lines "The Triumvirate is running around with the Protectorate and PRT picking up the pieces. Well Alexandria and Legend. Eidolon is still on his killing spree, or whatever that is. Those Fallen idiots are dedicated. You would have thought they would have taken a hint when he managed to put the Ash Beast out. Do they, oh no. They get together and try to start a crusade. Eidolon smashes the hell out of them and scatters them. Him and those New Haven people. Hey maybe they got their crusade after all."

"And just keeps on smashing and smashing and smashing, like the freaking Energizer Bunny and Hulks love child, on PCP." Crystal added.

"Which no one has figured out yet, or whether Ash Beast will light back up. After he heals, the Protectorate brought in that Ward, Scape Goat. Armsmaster and Dragon have that containment thing for him nearly ready and if he lights up he will power Africa forever. Well, them and Toy Box. All those Tinkers that showed up for this. It's like the biggest tinker fugue in history. Even without Ash Beast they are going to make the Sahara bloom. They already got solar powered desalination, solar electricity, wind power, and all kinds of other stuff going. The things to make the things now, to include installing them. Africa should be set for a few years, between them and Coil He is doing the same kind of stuff in sub-Saharan Africa, at least until all that stuff needs maintenance." Lisa shrugged as she handed Amy a burger. "Meanwhile Eidolon is still having a temper tantrum."

Amy ate with one hand and healed with the other. In between chart notes she sighed "You all have been keeping busy I see. Meanwhile I just heal. Well not just, you all know what I mean, since it's a striker power I have to be here." She paused and looked up into smiles from patients, orderlies, nurses, and doctors. Then she leaned forward and looked toward the airplane now performing aerobatics, still with its engines firewalled. She shook her head "All that sugar and protein, it should have worn off Taylor by now. I will have to be more careful about what I feed her."

Heidi nodded "I fly her meals up. She eats while she flies, or takes breaks in the air. The food is still a bit, well, high calorie maybe. When she isn't up there the Australian Air force and Navy send a CAP up. She can stall out and land on the platform dismissing the plane before it crashes now. She has been looking at the Harriers too."

Amy chuckled "Well, once I get these last few done for today don't feed her anymore. Rachel and I will go get dinner with her while they get tonight's batch ready. I'll talk to Rachel, we'll make her read the manuals on Harriers and memorize the never exceed speeds and stuff."

"Dinner, so that's what we are calling it now." Vicky waggled her eyebrows while the two patients being healed, two older ladies, one white and one native Australian, laughed.

When they all settled back down again Rachel was walking up with the pack of now normal sized dogs, maybe hundreds of them, half of them pets that had yet to be reunited with their owners, or strays. "Taylor is coming." Everyone looked around, suddenly conscious of the lack of noise.

Just as they all turned to look at Rachel, Taylor hit the ground at the front edge of the tent and rolled into a very inexpert parachute landing fall front. She popped to her feet "I'm okay." she cut her risers loose and the green parachute collapsed on a bunch of smiling people. Some of the few remaining DWU guys and some Australian military came and helped them out of it. They took it away to be repacked.

She walked up to Amy and got a hand to her cheek "Exhausted, need to eat, but yes nothing is broken or strained. Are you done flying?"

Taylor leaned in and kissed Amy, then out and kissed Rachel. The other girls made kissy lips and pouted outrageously when they were ignored. The two patients on the gurneys stifled laughter. "Yeah, got tired."

Rachel stepped in and wrapped an arm around her waist "Longest yet, two and half hours."

Taylor nodded "Gets easier. Maybe it's like muscle? The more you do the more you can do?" Rachel nodded, looking over the dog pack.

Lisa shrugged "We will design an experiment later. So, they are going to give you and Rachel Cross of Valor awards. There was some discussion about whether you had to be in the military as this was considered a military action but the medal has only been given to civilians, police for certain, fire fighters too. It could be awarded to military, it just hasn't been yet. You will be the first females to get it. Some parahumans got them when Leviathan attacked Sidney. Oh, and like a couple thousand hectares of land. A couple cattle stations, abandoned now. Something about making you citizens because of you two being Companions of the order of Australia. Not sure how that is going to work. The State Department is pulling their hair out, again, like the Brazil thing. You would think that established a precedent. I guess it's the Order of Australia thing, that's new. I think they wanted to one up the Brazilians and you already got land and awards from them."

Rachel nodded "Good for the dogs. Got a few people trained. Going to round up dingoes, keep them out of trouble. Get them eating the rabbits." The girls all looked at her as she got hugs from Taylor and Amy.

Lisa shook her head "OK, so another day of healing and we will be good to go. Award ceremony, then back to BB and school, yay!" She did jazz hands.

Crystal nodded "I do need to get back and get to class. As for medals, always glad to help, overjoyed I didn't get brain scrambled, thanks for keeping her busy Taylor, and Rachel deserves it more than any of us. Star of Courage and appointment to the Order of Australia is more than enough for me."

Taylor sighed "Me included. School will be bad again."

Heidi laughed until she cried. Taylor pouted which made it worse. Sally shook her head "Well, seeing how you have started fights between the Air Guard and the National Guard, the Air Guard says you and your aircraft are part of the newly reconstituted one hundred thirty third Fighter Squadron and the National Guard says you are the armor support for the one hundred ninety fifth Infantry Combat Team. And they had dibs. That's a bit of a stretch though since they haven't been anything other than field artillery since the early nineteen fifties. The Air Guard was a fighter wing until like nineteen sixty. Not sure which will get to claim you. The State Adjutant General is sorting it out supposedly. Anyway, yeah, it will be 'bad'."

Taylor, and the rest of the girls, looked at her. Taylor frowned thoughtfully "I can orbit over the Infantry unit and control the tanks while I shoot up whatever in the air, pretty sure anyway, like the guns and the plane here. If they are artillery, they should talk to Sherrel. That was artillery."

Amy recovered first from the cluster of open-mouthed girls. She closed her mouth, then said "Well, while you can become GI Josephine later, you need a shower now."

Taylor gave her the puppy dog eyes "Rachel and I were waiting on you babe."

The other girls held their breath as Amy blushed deeply red. The girls looked around and organized the few remaining patients. Who helped as best they could. Eighteen terminal patients had only ever been saved from the brink of death so fast by Jesus before that. If ever.

Then the entire, massively crowded, parking lot watched them walk off to the shower point arm in arm, with Amy in the middle. The Australian summer sun lowering and bathing them in a golden light.

Eight thousand and seven pictures were posted within five minutes. One thousand four with Amy's head leaned over on Taylor.

One short clip on repeat with 'Take my Breath Away" playing as its background music as Amy's eyes drifted closed for a moment and Rachel looked at her then smiled gently at Taylor, who smiled back softly. Rachel in dusty Australian Army BDUs, Amy in scrubs, and Taylor in her sweat soaked flight suit. There were vignettes inside the video of Taylor having to leave a mangled A10 as it disintegrated in a ball of fire, manifesting another and firewalling the throttles to fire a burst at the Simurgh and snap roll away, and Rachel with the dogs tearing a crashed bus apart to get the people out while protecting the passengers from a rain of feathers which buried themselves in the concrete pavement, one hitting Rachel a glancing blow and leaving a bright red line down her ribs. Several hitting the dogs who never wavered and just took the punishment.

Glen Chambers was admitted for observation after being darted, twice, with brute tranquilizers, to stop the screaming.

Gun Bunny

Taylor and Rachel looked down at the medals pinned to their sand BDUs and flight suit. Amy, wearing her own Star of Courage and Conspicuous Service Cross for her actions over the last several days, kissed them both and the crowd in the stadium went wild, roaring its approval before it broke out in Waltzing Matilda. No one knew why. It was a sports ground, and an occasion of national importance and pride though. The unofficial National Anthem seemed appropriate. The girls waltzed for them though. Being American and not knowing 'waltzing' was slang for walking. All three together, clumsily at first, but they soon figured it out. The other awardees joined in but left space on the field around the three.

Soon enough the portal was established on the field and the crowd watched, still roaring and singing as Battery Lordsport drove through it.

They arrived in the dockyards to another roaring crowd held back by the fence. A projector suitable for a drive-in theater played that video against the side of the Battery and speakers played Berlins 'Take My Breath Away', the crowd sang, roared, along with the song and waved candles. Taylor blushed "This is ridiculous."

Lisa nodded "Better go make a circuit inside the fence and shake some hands though or they will tear the thing down."

Sally nodded "We are obviously sleeping in the Battery too."

Heidi grimaced "Not unless they turn that song off. I must have heard it a hundred times in the last twenty-four hours."

Gun Bunny

Lisa drove, on the ground with the wheels and engine, the Stryker to school the next day. They arrived to the whole school standing around in the parking lot. As soon as they got dismounted the cheerleaders started Take My Breath Away. The girls stopped, groaned and face palmed. The students of Arcadia finished the song and then laughed like maniacs. Then they charged the girls. The video of the fight from the snitch had been posted, edited and with hundreds of minutes of cell and other camera footage added. It was a three-hour long video on Uber and Leets YouTube site. Two hours and twelve minutes longer than the fight had been.

By lunch everything had settled, well as settled as having a truple, a new word coined, or coopted, for Taylor, Amy and Rachel's relationship, was going to let the student body get.

"Truple. Well, I guess triad brings up ABB stuff, vee is just too metro, and doesn't fit. Truple is a math term though." Taylor sighed.

Rachel shrugged "Cheerleaders." The others nodded sagely. It was possible the cheerleaders could know what the term meant. Not likely, but possible. They were probably stuck with it as they were the first 'truple' and the cheerleaders were fascinated.

Dennis opened his mouth and Carlos stepped on his foot, hard, he snapped his mouth closed along with his eyes and his hands made fist on the table. Chris was too busy with Heidi, Sally was grinning and poking at that development. Dean was trying to stay out of trouble with Vicky, he had been a proud singer this morning.

Lisa offered "At least it doesn't look like we are going to have to play anvil to the Empires hammer again. Hey you are already old hat Taylor! One more Endbringer run off and people will just expect it of you."

Taylor growled "I am going to find a way to kill one of these fuckers yet."

"That's the spirit! Meanwhile there is the bounty on Nilbog and you can Lazy Dog now." Lisa smiled.

Amy nodded "I can stop his little plague bullshit too. The Triumvirate hasn't dealt with him yet because of that."

Taylor shrugged "Something to think about if we need money. Sherrel and the girls are running the stuff we already got and making pretty good money. Pretty sure some other bounties will come to town. Plus, now we got Simurgh money. We can think about Nilbog this summer. I am definitely not going to upstate New York in the winter. Much less starting a fight there."


	16. Chapter 16

Gun Bunny 16

Amy watched Taylor. Who was dancing? Maybe? "Oh my god! Taylor what the hell are you doing?"

"Dancing?"

"Why are you using the Black Crows money maker song? Use Kingpin Skinny Pimps."

"I don't like rap as much."

Amy contemplated Taylor and the room in the base that they were using. It had hardwood floors, mirrors on one wall and stripper poles. "Did we set this room up?"

Taylor nodded as she attacked a pole, Amy winced. "Oof. OK, like this and then this." Inched up the pole in the un-sexiest way possible and hung upside down "Stacey and Kim wanted it. They need somewhere to practice. They are the feature dancers at the club over in the Velvet Spread. They have to stay in practice or the headliners get out in front. Or some shit, it was like, stripper drama. We already had the room. It was like a ballet studio or some shit. Don't know how that got in the plan. It's got the poles and a great stereo now though. The video monitor wall is cool. So, Netflix and chill. Except you know, YouTube."

Amy was tempted to face palm. Rachel came in with some dogs and Angelica went and barked up Taylor's pole. Rachel stripped and attacked a pole in yoga shorts and a sports bra. Amy leaned back and slid down the mirror. Nickelback's Shaking Hands came on and Taylor whooped and leapt from one pole to another. Amy did face palm "Fuck, my life."

Heidi stuck her head in the room when Theory of a Deadman's Bad Girl Friend started vibrating the windows "Hey! Pole dancing! I heard of this!" She leaned back and yelled down the hall and then charged in the room stripping. The other girls wandered in.

Sally tilted her head sideways a second then looked at Amy "They suck."

"Fuck, my life." Amy said, again.

"Hey! You no playa the game you talka the shit." Heidi barked.

Sally spun around "Is that supposed to be an Italian accent? Oh my god you all suck, here, let me show you. Song worked in a club before Lung made her my Thai Nanny."

Amy perked up. Sally was pretty good. She shrugged and stripped off her outer clothes too.

Of course, it couldn't last, without a complication at least. Chris stuck his head in the room, he had come by looking for Heidi after his patrol. He froze and his face went so read Amy went to check him. Which didn't help. He wasn't having a heart attack or anything. Heidi pulled him into the room and over to a pole. The girls had taken to wearing yoga shorts and sports bras under their clothes so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Rachel had started it as she hated most underwear and all bras. She tolerated the sports bras and yoga shorts.

Sally looked at Sarah who had come in at some point "Oh my god! You are Asian. How do you suck at this this much? What the hell is that? Your zig zag is jerky, the hair whip didn't whip your hair, your come up looks like you are standing up from peeing, you need to drop deeper, walk don't clomp, roll that money maker around, big circles girl! And you have no rhythm. What are you Korean? I know they won't let people dance sexy in clubs. Stay with the beat."

"My dad was white, give me a break. And no, I'm not Korean. Half Japanese. What can't you do in clubs there? I thought they had like hella whorehouses, and Russian hookers everywhere since the Olympics."

Sally shook her head "Here watch me." Sally smirked when Bob Seger's Strut came on. She started a routine that included all of the stuff she had talked about and more.

The others drifted to a halt watching. Chris was standing there with his mouth open. Heidi was grinning at him and then Sally. As Sally finished on the floor a ten dollar bill flutters down onto her belly. Flechete cheered and clapped. She had come looking for some entertainment after the joint patrol and Battery Lordsport always had something going on. Sally huffed at her, and stuffed the ten in her bra. The others laughed. "Well don't just stand there, get that crap off and let's see what you got Riry."

"Hey, no cracks about accents. I speak better English than you."

Sarah tossed her hands up "Here we go."

Chris looked around "I, uh, better-"

Heidi clamped down on his arm "Oh hell no, you are our gauge."

"Wut?" Chris tried to gently extract himself, he was unsuccessful. Buck Cherry's Crazy Bitch came up and Lily actually stripped down as she danced. She had the same yoga pants and sports bra 'uniform' on under her costume. Girls do talk, she was where they got the idea. Chris was paralyzed by her routine. Sally tossed the ten back. Lily hopped up and did the finger snapping head moving thing. All the girls gave her hugs and she started a class. Chris tried to get away again and found himself in the front row.

Taylor looked at Amy later as she cooked dinner in her apartment's kitchen with plenty of help. "Heidi might have pushed Chris too hard."

Amy chuckled "It was hard all right."

"Amy!"

"What was hard? Your dad is on the way Tay. Oh pork chops, apple sauce, Brussel sprouts, and rolls, holy crap, are these made from scratch? Nice. Need any help Hon?"

Danny walked in in the middle of the story and chuckled at the end of it. "It's good for him. He is a nice boy. That Dennis on the other hand. What's that Pink song? U and yur hand."

"Dad! Oh my god! Amy brain bleach, make me forget!"

Sherrel laughed. Vista, who had shown up and helped embarrass Chris near terminally giggled. Then sobered "You know, Lorraine should probably talk to him."

Sherrel shrugged "I'll ask her but she isn't actually a child psychologist. Why though?"

"Well his dad is really sick, probably not going to live long. He's in Medhall's research hospital."

Amy's fork clattering to her plate punctuated the open mouthed looks around the big table. Vicky finally breathed "Fuck, I knew that." She winced as Amy's head swiveled to her like one of Taylor's gun turrets.

Gun Bunny

Paul looked at David, they were sitting in David's living room. "So, you are different."

"And I am not sure why. It's like a burden has been lifted. I found a fourth slot. I used to live for Endbringer fights. Now Gun Bunny has that. If she shows up almost anyone could knock them over after she is done."

"When her team is done." Paul said.

David nodded "I read that report. That bomb tinker, Bakuda, made a lot of that ammo, or at least designed it. If she had been around a hundred years ago battleships would still be the queens of the seas, with cruisers and destroyers as their ladies in waiting. That sixteen-inch gun of Squealers can range hundreds of miles because of her. That's what that Canadian guy, Gerald Bull, was trying to do. Before your time I guess. I barley remember him from when I was a kid. He had this project in the Caribbean, it was a big deal. Advanced the art of artillery. Looked like he could make that Jules Verne story come true. Then he got in trouble for arms dealing, finally he was assassinated, probably for helping Saddam Hussein. 1990 I think. Anyway, Bakuda's stuff beats his by miles. What was I talking about, yeah, her team? They do work together well. With the normals in the DWU too. Armsmaster is finally able to make some headway in the ENE."

"The Protectorate and PRT ENE David."

"Yes." David shook his head "We were alone to long. Or at least Alexandria and I were. We stopped thinking about the normal people. Hero did too a bit. You never did."

Paul nodded "I always thought we were going about it the wrong way. I couldn't really come up with anything better though."

"Well this is better now. We will get these S class threats working with us or they will die. Then we will move on the main threat."

"What if he isn't? What if he keeps pulling cats out of trees and helping people?"

"You know what he is Paul. We got his partner, better half, whatever that is, in the garden. Contessa, as much as she pisses me off, has been right about the major points time and again. We have to handle him when we get the resources to do so."

"This is the correct path, remember David? Contessa already confirmed it. Maybe it isn't us, maybe its Gun Bunny and her crew. I don't think we have to leap on any grenades right now. Gun Bunny has bought us some time, according to Contessa."

"Possibly, well you should get home to Arthur and Keith."

Paul nodded "I should. Take it easy David. Don't start any fights with Alex."

David smiled "You can't take all my fun away. Though Doctor Mother is more fun lately. I thought that correct path comment was going to make her stroke out."

Paul stepped onto the balcony. "Good Night David." A streak of white light vanished into the sky.

David snorted "Always has to get the last word." He turned from the French doors. "Now who was that villain in Mexico? The one making mud volcanoes?"

Gun Bunny

"A precog in Brocton Bay. According to second hand information. Poor quality humint from a conversation in a bar. Not even between PRT or Law enforcement. The Mayors brother complaining about his girl being sick and crazy. People really shouldn't drink so much that they forgot themselves, or at least their security."

"Is it worth the risk? No, not yet. Plus, I have the precognition covered." Thomas Calvert turned and looked at the early morning scene from the bridge of his assault carrier in the harbor at Lagos. The fires were all out now and the dust and smoke rising were from his heavy equipment. It was surprising how quickly this venture had started pouring money into the coffers. He had managed to preserve the oil assets. It had only taken fifteen paths as well. Unlike Somalia. That fucking hell hole was going to have to be sterilized and repopulated. Khat!

Gun Bunny

Kaiser sipped his Mortlach 1938. One of the few pleasures he still left himself in the leaned down Medhall of today. Of course, it came from the Empire. The last dying ember of potential greatness distilled into the ambrosia of the gods. Ha, two Empires even. He smiled. He was on a roll tonight. "So, you are saying I may have done enough to avoid the Birdcage."

The lawyer, with the distinguished grey streaks like the wings of a Viking helmet through his hair, shrugged eloquently and spoke in a voice that would put Morgan Freeman practicing in the mirror "I actually said all of the current activities, cleaning up the company, cutting ties with Gesselschaft influenced businesses like Bayer GMBH, could be cast in a positive light."

Max nodded "Well, let's see how we can further improve the situation then."

Gun Bunny

Hookwolf screamed and tried to go into his protective mode. The Bone spur, lance really, didn't care. Neither did the others that grew from his own bones in his shell. He broke free of his shell and died, crucified on a St Andrews cross of bone in the first room of the Birdcage itself. Cricket and Storm Tiger watched the tall, dark-haired, man wearing the bone crown.

They slowly panned around to see the other cell block leaders of the Birdcage. Acidbath, Galvanate, Teacher, Lab Rat, Gavel, Lustrum, Black Kaze, Glastig Uaine, String Theory, Crane the Harmonious, and Ingenue.

Lustrum nodded "Now that that unfortunately required unpleasantness is over let's see where you soldiers are going to go."

Cricket signed "How." Her throat mike speaking device had been taken from her. Black Kaze stepped forward along with Gavel. Cricket swallowed and focused on Black Kaze, it wasn't like she could go to a cell block with males anyway. The birdcage was strictly segregated by sex, and with people like Galstig Uaine enforcing that, you didn't ask questions. Storm Tiger growled. Unless you were an idiot apparently.

"Why did you kill Hookwolf Marquis?"

Marquis eyed him "My daughter lives in Brocton Bay. We are not completely cut off from the world here. I have heard of his threats to Amelia. And I could. A lesson for you. Welcome to the jungle little tiger."

Storm Tiger flicked his hand and screamed as the bones in it fused together. He hissed and glared "Who the fuck is Amelia."

Marquis froze for a second "You really don't know? I must find a way to congratulate the Brigade, New Wave now. Panacea is my daughter Amelia Claire Lavere."

"Who is shacking up with the bitch that shot us and got us here? Gun Bunny, and that other bitch Hellhound!" Storm Tiger couldn't scream as his jaw bones and teeth fused together.

Glastig Uaine raised a hand "I would hear about Queen shaper and Queen administrator Marquis. Let him tarry on this plane yet a while."

Marquis inclined his head and waved. Hookwolf's bones formed a throne like chair for Glastig Uaine. She nodded to Marquis regally as she sat. "You, girl, come here. Let me help you so we can hear about the adventures of the other Queens." Cricket's eyes were rolling like a pregnant mare trapped in her stall, in a barn fire.

Gun Bunny

Amy finished the last terminal case at Medhall and her administrators continued to make the arrangements to have any terminal patients transferred to the Battery Lordsport clinic from now on. Taylor and Rachel hugged her. Rachel said "Not your fault, we all missed it."

Sarah nodded "Who knew there was a medieval torture chamber in town where they were testing chemical warfare shit on people? We can do so much fucking better than this shit. I got about a billion plans."

Sally looked around at the immaculately clean well-appointed room they were in. "Well maybe not a medieval torture chamber, still, chemo is insane though."

The young man on the bed shrugged "Beats dead." The girls all nodded. The guy looked Taylor up and down "So I'm better, how you doing."

Taylor blushed, Rachel glared, the dogs began growing and Amy frowned "You are thinking about testing that death or chemo thing huh?"

"Sorry, jeeze, put a ring on it before she gets somebody killed. All that hotness stacked up six feet tall like that?"

"And we are leaving, come on ladies." Vicky began herding the girls out the door.

Heidi looked at Vicky "Always being the hero, saving idiots, aren't you."

"Somebody had to save that idiot."

"Dallons for the twofer."

"Shut up goof. Just drive the Zeppelin."

Gun Bunny

"She is going to have the best sweet sixteen in history and get two promise rings with diamonds the size of your head."

Danny looked down into Squealers face. "The likelihood of that triple thing blowing up is greater than zero you know."

"Phhtt! It has the right amount of angst and is just difficult enough, and they are all pretty committed to it. Not just the triple, all of them. It has a better chance than most. If it does blow up, well we will ease them down, and you are a great dad, they can be mostly sisters, just they had a big ass fight."

"And once they have sex?"

Sherrel huffed "If they would get on with it. They are in slow motion. Hey quit grinning. Lorraine says sex is a healthy part of a relationship and matters. Ass. Stop trying to look serious when I know you are still grinning like an idiot."

Danny sighed "Fine, but you can't blame me for liking the slow pace. Taylor is only fifteen."

"And has fought two Endbringers to a standstill. Ruined two gangs that were in the national criminal organization watch list. Wrecked a third and made it something different. Chased the Butcher off. Oh, and caused the destruction of a S class threat, the Fallen. Those bible thumpers in Texas, Haven, have no idea what to do with themselves now."

"That was Gun Bunny?"

"What? I either need to fuck your head back straight or get Lorraine over here. What the fuck? Oh, OK, but we are still calling Lorraine. How are you doing this carry me up the stair's thing, did Amy slip in and rebuild you?"

Gun Bunny

Lorraine huffed and laughed, then sobered. "Well you aren't wrong actually Danny. It's known in cape psychology. Her personas will blend together more. Unless she is not normal. Like Assault. That guy has two complete personas. Battery doesn't even have to leave home for some strange. An aspect of cape maturity let's call it. I think Assault's is delayed, or was disrupted by his career change form villainous mercenary to hero. Yamada and her peeps aren't talking though."

Sherrel shook her head "Annette trained you well. I can't even see that I told you so you are thinking. I owe her big time."

Lorraine looked at the pair "Now since you are here and this has come up, let's talk." Danny squirmed, as did Sherrel. Lorraine rolled her eyes "Oh boy, this will be fun."

Gun Bunny

Taylor shrugged "That boy was sick."

Sally sighed "Heidi go get Chris, bring Carlos and Dennis back with you. I'll call the DWU and have them send up Regent and Grue. Maybe if you hear from them all at once you will get it. Emma was a shit ball and was full of shit. Obviously, she was intelligent though and could see what you would be one day. She knew her time was now and she was going to peak as a junior, probably end up married to some jock that peaked in high school for her first marriage, then when they lost their job, she would leave them and move on to some shit talking, nice dressing, fuck she met in a club. Or the boss she got a job being the secretary for, oh pardon me. administrative assistant. Her life was close to over, yours had just begun. She didn't have to be a cunt about it. Hey, Hess would be her first washed up jock, she is an over achiever."

Heidi looked at the pink faced Taylor "Am I going to get my boyfriend, or not." The squeals went past the range of human hearing. Taylor mouthed 'thank you' at her. Amy gave her a smile and Rachel nodded at her. Heidi smiled and went down in the wave of estrogen.

Later, over in the teen part of Sherrel's establishment, hey, there was money to be made from teens too. Amy face palmed at Taylor and Rachel's dancing. Sally rolled her eyes and shoved Amy out on the dance floor at Taylor and Rachel. She jumped in surprise when a deep voice asked "Not dancing?"

Sally turned and looked at the fireplug of a guy standing next to her chair. With his hand out like it was princess movie.

Gun Bunny

Taylor was on top of the base watching the sunrise. wrapped in a blanket. Sally walked up and Taylor held one side of the blanket open. Sally sat and squirmed into the much larger girl. Sally asked "What are we doing Taylor?"

"Ha! I'm ready for you this time! I am living my life as best as I know how. I think I am doing pretty good. I have good friends and Dad. I have good things to do with my power, fighting people who want to take and use, instead of live and leave as small a mark on the world, and its people as they can. Plus, I fight the Endbringers because I can. Ultimately, I want as many people here in Brockton Bay to be able to live their lives as comfortably as possible. I would say the country, or the world, but I'm fifteen. Maybe once I get Brockton Bay in some kind of shape and safe, I can extend my reach. What are we doing? We are the ones standing the long lonely watches of the night. Along the way, we can hopefully find some joy."

Sally sat for a moment "Uh, okay? I meant why are we sitting on the gravel up here. Ever heard of a yoga mat, maybe a pillow? Cool you have a life philosophy at fifteen though. No wonder you are the leader."

Taylor turned to her, looked into her absolutely innocent face and growled "Bitch."

"Where? If she catches me hugging it out with you we are so dead!"

"I hate you so much right now." Sally leaned her head on Taylors shoulder and smiled. "Are you smiling that little secret smile? You are aren't you. Arrrgghh!"


	17. Chapter 17

Gun Bunny 17

"Gun liner life is fifty-four more shots to start with. Without the Swedish additive, titanium dioxide and wax. I bet I can figure out something better than wax as a carrier too. Maybe something better than titanium dioxide. Molybdenum is out. It does funny things, and I would need to build a cleaning thing. Hmm a cleaning thing isn't a bad idea anyway. Especially if we automate them. all the pictures I found on the internet have like the whole turret crew doing what the call punching gun tubes with big ass poles. A turret crew was like seventy guys.

"They weigh more than a hundred thousand pounds less.

"Range is good enough, only about three thousand yards more for the sixteen fifties, and eleven hundred and forty pounds is plenty of payload. I can work on the propellants too. They were at the top of the art for that but that was forty years ago, well for the last time a bag gun ship was in use. If you do your usual craziness we can double the chamber pressure so get greater range.

"Rate of fire on the twelve fifty mark eights is higher than the sixteen fifty mark sevens too. It uses less than half the powder as well. More ammo storage per mount as well.

"Deck penetration is better than the fourteen-inch guns, belt penetration about the same. Like I said, more bounce to the ounce, bigger is not always better. The whole installation is more compact and will take less out of you.

"Meaning if you do them all at once, or one at a time, they go permanent sooner. Then Squealer and I can get to work.

"Plus, I can do time stop bomblets and freeze his freaking waves, and maybe his dumb ass.

"Hah! We can add a DU space laminated array to the turrets too! Same bearings as the sixteen fifty mark seven turrets but a hundred and fifty thousand pounds lighter, just the turret! We can do seventy-five tons of DU in the array! Not like we have to fit through a canal."

Gun Bunny sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Bakuda frowned and rolled her eyes "If you have to have your pop guns you can do your five sixty-two mark forty fives after you do the real guns."

"Hey! I range twenty-five thousand yards with those! Just with the conventional shit. If I make those freaking extended range guided things, that no one else can make work by the way, I can get to sixty nautical miles!"

"Cargo space Babe! I'm doing the best I can, and so is Sherrel, but this crap takes room."

Lisa perked up "Get Halbeard to look at it!"

"He already did for the detonators, time fuzes, and shell casings. Twelve fifty mark eights are the way to go. Now come on, study these plans, I scanned them and put them in the system, you can pull them to your HUD. I got them from Watervliet. Best twelve inch gun ever made and the Navy lost the tech data. The Army hoards tech data. Stupid Navy scrapped the two best large cruisers, pocket battleships really, ever built as well. I wonder about them sometimes. All that zoomy, next sexy fighter, shit for all those years wrecked them. They forgot the best bombardments they did were with battleships in the pacific. Old ass battleships even.

"Guns are where it's at, cheaper than missiles. Which Phalanx fucking terminates with extreme prejudice. Million dollars, brrrtttt, million dollars in the shitter. All day long, a million dollar missile every few seconds if you let the automated systems work. I'm not even going to talk about planes. Those are just for getting politicians elected now that we have drones.

"The Army even marked up the changes and came up with improvements to that fucked up rammer thing the Navy used to transfer projos to the rotating platforms in the shell flats. Added an autoloader too. Ambitious. What the fuck is parbuckling? Never mind we can use automated shell handling. Safer. Plus, we are on land so don't have to worry about weight so much." Taylor sighed. Apparently they were going to do a thing.

Rachel stood up and ended the discussion "Let's go look where they want them. See if you can do them."

"Yay."

"We'll run. We need the exercise."

Bakuda slumped "Boo."

"Especially you."

"Hey!" Bakuda growled "Did she just call me fat Sally?"

"No. Guilty conscious?"

"Girl. Don't be mean bitch."

"So, are you saying you are a girl, and ascribing that weak ass shit to all girls, or are you appropriating black culture?"

"Change!" Rachel yelled. The two Asian girls took off running, while squealing, as a dog charged them. Charlie it looked like. He was as goofy as a dino dog as he was as his normal golden retriever self. He would have just held them down and licked them. Once through the Charlie human wash was plenty though.

Gun Bunny

Taylor laid the plans out on the picnic table "Here, on the top of Captains hill? Do we have permission?"

Bakuda lifted her head, hands still on her knees and panting, and nodded. Rachel frowned "Need a hole." She whistled and motioned, two of the Dino Dogs started digging. The girls scampered out of the way.

Taylor nodded "Make a ramp down at the back Rachel. This is in my range and one of these weighs less than a ring of mark forty fives. So, we are going with this Mod four change the Army did?"

Sherrel shrugged "Might as well. They were doing turrets for shore artillery with ex-Navy guns at the time." She flipped the drawings through several pages "They drew one up for this too. I think they had designs on the guns, and then, well missiles and the Airfarce. They had next sexy fighter disease too.

"Sweet autoloader though. A few modifications and it will rock. Ford computer, you don't really use computers though. I have to figure out how you do that. Anyway, leave the, you know what, never mind. I can come up with better than this. A computer numerically controlled system, I think. I mean we don't need to compensate for roll or own velocity. And once we set zero it isn't going to change, we aren't wearing a mill or drill. Hmmm, a M1A1 system as a base, I think. Oh, I can upgrade these hydraulics too.

"Airfarce. Hmmph. Same deal, pilots, when we have working drones are just stupid. Drones can pull more G if they don't have to not squish the future politician. Carry more weight if the monkey doesn't have to have oxygen. Eliminate all the life support crap and you probably get a metric ton of useful payload back. Oh, ejection seat too! Yeah sending future politicians aloft is a waste.

"Boeing is working on a drone that can do that most manly of Navy things, land, and take off, from a carrier. After that it's all just wasted money as they could stick those avionics in any aircraft. Hell, F18's take off by themselves now. The catapult officer won't shoot unless he can see both of the monkey's paws off the controls.

"Commercial planes land and take off by themselves with the pilots observing in bad weather. Well, land certainly, usually take off is a manual procedure, the pilots don't like it because it requires them to do some set up work, but really that could be preprogramed and put into a mission module. Target drones started the long death of the aerial bus driver. The autonomous drones like Global Hawk and this new one that can land and take off from carriers are the death knell for the bus drivers and bomb delivery boys and girls. They're just fighting the feeling.

Taylor nodded studying the plan "OK, you two are dismissive of pilots. Got it. Think you can build a system to land an airliner in the Hudson after a bird strike? Gunfight the Simurgh?" Sherrel gaped at her as the other girls chuckled. "Now, why are we building this here? We have to test fire it right? Aren't we going to knock out all the windows? I mean most of town is between here and the ocean."

Lisa blinked "A hundred calibers and it drops to zero, or near enough, the sound will still be going and can induce vibration, but the actual muzzle blast drops to effectively zero at a hundred calibers, so a hundred feet from the muzzle." She scratched her head "What the fuck power?"

"Preach sister. Fucking things, I swear." Sarah looked at the others looking at her and shrugged sheepishly, then recovered. "Probably won't matter much anyway. I am planning on you shooting a pattern at max range to test the time stop and see if it can build a shield. Max elevation is forty-five degrees. That puts the blast wave going up, mostly. Might ace some birds."

"And how much depression?" Taylor had turned around and was looking past her house, part of town, and the boardwalk, then out into the bay.

Sarah turned and followed her gaze "Uh well, I hadn't really thought of it as a real coastal artillery installation. Damnit."

Lucy and Amanda were looking at the plan. They reached in their shoulder bags and produced engineering scientific calculators and an engineers drafting kit from Amanda while Lucy produced a pad of tracing paper. "Give us a minute while Rachel does the hole. Take it to good rock Rachel. Thirty feet deep if you can." Lucy said.

Amanda nodded "We'll drop the trunnions, not like we have to worry about dipping the muzzles." Soon enough the geniuses were surrounded by the tinkers and they were all going to town. Lisa was right there with them.

Taylor, Rachel, Heidi, Vicky, and Sally, were happy digging an enormous hole and adding things to the drawings existing barbette, ammo flats, and magazine. Like quarters for a crew. Since they had that, well, the crew need a mess hall. Head, showers, a day room, TV lounge, sickbay. Power and utility rooms, septic pits. Fuel storage for the power generation. Oh they could make gas from the waste and feed it to a turbine. That would extend the time the generator could run. So not pits a digester system. HVAC, refrigeration and the condenser could provide heat. Taylor pencil whipped a tri-generation plant to guess at the dimensions for that power generation room and then put in another on the other side. Pretty soon they had a hole dug, with the help of the dogs of course, that you could bury the bow of the Alaska all the way back to the barbette of the number two turret in.

The dog's dino claws had no trouble with the weathered or eroded stone, once they got to good hard stone they stopped. Vicky hammer handed the rock a couple times to check it and nodded. Well, they stopped going down. They were deeper than thirty feet too. It was old rock. Then they put in two ramps. Planning the armor, and doors better than Cheyenne Mountain's, as they went. Ramps big enough to drive a loaded semi in one end and out the other. Ammo had to get delivered somehow, and food, fuel too!

The dogs were having a blast. Dirt and rocks were flying. Heidi had a few of them helping her load dirt and rock on some giant flattish slabs they had dug up and Vicky had karate chopped into shape, moving the spoil out of the way. Taylor did a little blasting, and Sally did some kind of plasma arc thing and together they made the rock level, and smooth as glass.

Taylor got with Sally and had her drill holes straight down as far as she could and then she formed foot thick steel rods with buttress threads on each end in the holes and protruding two feet in the air above the floor.

They stopped and brushed their hands together grinning at each other, then high fived. Twenty dino doggies could move serious dirt. After walking up the ramp talking, they looked at Lisa watching over the geniuses and tinkers. Taylor arched a brow. Lisa shrugged "Fugue, I tried to stop them, but it just took off."

Heidi walked over to the table and shook her head "Hope they can get more drawings. They used the back of all of these. Hey is that the hole? She held up sheet with a plan, elevation, and called out cutaway drawings of the gun turret and all its necessary structure and equipment in the hole they had dug. The girls all came over and oohed and ahhed pointing out things to each other.

Taylor nodded "Pretty good. They used all the space too. This area holds a lot more people than I was thinking. Automated the shell handling with, industrial robots? The powder bag handling too? Oh all the positions are automated. OK wow. We have to put primers in this magazine, load the shell flats and powder magazines and that's it. Man the timing on all this is going to be a bitch. Is this a robot arm hanging from the ceiling behind the guns? Is that out of the path of recoil? Yeah OK."

Lisa nodded "Endbringer shelter cum defense site. It's the four high coffin racks. I think we can probably get paid for it, especially if you can do it out of one of your alloys combining tungsten, steel, chromium, and titanium, with some osmium. Hell toss in rhenium and iridium and you will have hit all the notes. Oh, smear in some of your THB. Once you make it go once on one gun the master controller should have the timing and can repeat it for the other guns."

Taylor grinned at her "That's what my guns are now, minus the THB. That's why they can take double the pressure of normal guns. I'll give the turret an armor a plating of the THB. The access doors too."

Lisa blinked and looked at her forty S&W Ruger SR40C Gun Bunny clone. "Holy fuck! Taylor! Osmium is like a thousand dollars an ounce!"

Taylor grinned at her "Not for me. She handed her a gold knife, after she bent the blade double on a rock. Lisa whimpered, and took it like it was the Holy Grail. Taylor made it disappear. Lisa whined. Taylor handed her a flawless diamond one. Lisa hummed. The others watched as Taylor made weapons out of precious and semiprecious metals and stones. Lisa snatched them as fast as she made them.

Sally came over to the two and got hissed at by Lisa as she sat in her pile of treasure. "Hush you. I'm the fucking dragon around here. Taylor stop teasing her. It's not nice."

Taylor huffed "Neither is her letting my girlfriend fugue out."

Amy walked up and kissed her, then Rachel as she closed in. "Don't be mean Babe. Come on, we made a thing! She towed her over to the table where they had the plans laid out in order. Taylor started paging through them slowly. Lisa whined some more when the treasures disappeared as Taylor focused on the plans. Vicky toed her "Up, stop giving blonds a bad name, or I'll make you go back to brunette."

"I'm a natural blond thank you very much!" Lisa barked leaping to her feet. She dusted her butt off, looked at the hole, then the plans, and grunted "I think we are going to need to make a barricade and let Taylor study the- never mind." They all looked at the giant guns sticking up above their heads.

Sarah nodded "Now keep it there and we will test it tomorrow. Well, all the systems. We have to talk to everyone about test firing it. Probably take a week."

Gun Bunny

Danny walked into the area at the top of the Battery where the girls hung out, sort of their house, it had the kitchen, a TV or game room, a dining room and a hell of a view of the bay, town, and the improving boat graveyard, or maybe it was Lordsport again. Sherrel met him at the door in a sports bra, yoga shorts, ankle socks and a ridiculous apron. He smiled and kissed her. "Got the duty?"

"My turn. Meat and two veg. Help me carve in fifteen or twenty minutes? Half a steer in the oven roasting." She handed him a beer and hugged him.

"Sure. You safe cooking in that?"

Sherrel nodded her head against his shoulder "To hot for anything else. We went running. The meat and two veg, one being potatoes, is because Amy got tired of the whining and did a couple drive by tune ups. I'll let you figure out who from dinner."

"I can help now?"

"I got it, things are just finishing. Damn steer is taking forever, even in that tinked oven. Go sit. I'll call."

Danny shrugged, gave her a kiss and a pat on the rump which drew a grin and then wandered to the TV room. He chuckled at the pile of boobs, butts, arms and legs on the group of beanbags in the middle of the floor.

Danny sat in the reclining love seat. Angelica came over and jumped up in his lap. He smiled as she turned around three times and lay down. Turning on the TV he switched to the local NBC Affiliate. He blinked when Lester Holt threw the show to Natalie Morales out of Hartford for breaking news in Brockton Bay.

Natalie appeared standing in front of a three-gun turret, with Gunther Yarrow, in a set of Navy Chief Petty Officer blues. Gunther? Sure, he was a veteran but he spent most of his time on the bay 'fishing' with a case of beer. He was a tall weather-beaten guy who the salt water had to have preserved. He was an older man when Danny was a kid. A fixture in the bay, at least the salt water side of the bay.

"I'm here in Brockton Bay Lester, with Chief Petty Officer retired, Gunther Yarrow. Behind me you can see the thing causing all the activity on the internet.

"What we know right now is that Battery Lordsport installed this triple gun turret here in the park at the top of Captains hill this afternoon."

Gunther was scowling "Three gun turret, not a triple mount." Natalie blinked. Gunther continued "With the guns at different elevations like that they are all sleeved separately. A triple mount would all be locked together. These are twelve-inch fifty caliber mark eight guns with some modifications obviously."

Natalie nodded but said "Perhaps not so obvious to the rest of us Chief."

Danny chuckled as Gunther nodded "Quickly then, these guns and this turret are from the USS Alaska, or one of her sister ships. Alaska was a thirty four thousand ton, eight hundred feet long, ninety feet wide, one hundred and fifty three thousand shaft horsepower battle cruiser of the United States Navy during World War two capable of thirty three knots. These were the best twelve inch guns ever built. They range three thousand yards less than the sixteen inch guns on the Iowa's and are more capable than the fourteen inch guns of a standard battleship. Alaska is a gun fighter."

"Thank you Chief. We'll get with you later to get the information for the special report.

"Lester, what we know happened is that this afternoon Battery Lordsport led by Gun Bunny was seen running through Brockton Bay. This is not unusual as they do run for aerobic training quite often. What was unusual was that it was all of the parahumans of Battery Lordsport out at one time and there was no gunfire.

"According to our sources and the Parahumans Online website, they ran up here and talked, looked at some plans and then, well, Bitch and her dogs, along with Ryu, Rune, Glory Girl and Gun Bunny dug this hole while the others worked over some plans on this picnic table. Gun Bunny then made this turret, and they left." While she talked the best available video clips of what she described ran on the screen.

"Chief, what do you think they intended to use these guns for." Natalie asked brightly

Danny groaned, Gunther was convinced the Navy could handle Leviathan "Kill Leviathan." Gunther said. Danny took a long pull of his beer.

Natalie's face was a gleeful, blood thirsty, grin. "And there you have it Lester. Our expert's opinion, and mine as well."

The scene cut to a stunned looking Lester Holt "We'll be standing by for your NBC special report at eleven Natalie.

Danny leaned is head back on the headrest. "Taylor what the hell?"

Taylor answered, making him flinch a bit "It's an experiment really. We need the guns to launch the things Sarah came up with. First, we are going to freeze the area in front of Leviathan and then we are going to go after Leviathan with a different kind of ammunition. Last, we will unfreeze the area. Sarah picked the twelve fifty mark eights. We got permits."

Danny chuckled "Have you gotten ready for the news people? They will be at the front door-" The windows lit up "Now I guess."

Taylor sighed "I'll go tell them we'll talk to them after dinner."

"Well, let me go help Sherrel then."

Amy, and Rachel got up with Taylor and followed her. The others followed Danny.

Taylor drifted to a halt outside watching Justine handle the news person. Justine saw Natalie looking over her shoulder and turned "Oh. Hey Gun Bunny. Look Natalie has a special she wants to do. Her and her crew could help get the story out.

Taylor looked at Justine, "Fine, we are about to have dinner though. Why don't you all go get some dinner? Lorraine's is open. Tell Connie I sent you."

Justine nodded "Oh good idea. So, it's seven now. How about we come back at eight?"

Taylor just nodded, she watched as Justine led the news team away, videos still rolling and her talking a mile a minute. Natalie was interjecting questions and scribbling notes as were her producer and research person. The sound and camera people followed along with the makeup artist. Gunther Yarrow was still in the crowd. "So, Justine might come in handy."

Rachel shrugged "For once."

Amy huffed and led them both back to the elevator so they could go eat. "Natalie is going to go for her Pulitzer Prize and a promotion to the Network from that affiliate she works at. That producer too. She, they, both of those women looked like sharks. Justine better be careful."


	18. Chapter 18

Gun Bunny 18

Bagrat, the man in the know about everything, except Battery Lordsport apparently, worked his contacts feverishly trying to get ahead of a national news network. A network that was running tidbits on their 'breaking news' story at every commercial break.

He posted the stats on the Alaska, with attribution to Peter Chen, whose base article he used, as fast as he could surf them up.

Country United States

Ship Class Alaska-class Large Cruiser

Hull Number CB-1

Builder New York Shipbuilding Corp., Camden, NJ

Laid Down 17 Dec 1941

Launched 15 Aug 1943

Commissioned 17 Jun 1944

Decommissioned 17 Feb 1947

Displacement 29799 tons standard; 34253 tons full

Length 807 feet

Beam 91 feet

Draft 27 feet

Machinery Eight Babcock & Wilcox boilers, four General Electric steam turbines

Bunkerage oil 3619 tons

Power Output 150000 SHP

Speed 33 knots

Range 12000nm at 15knots

Crew 1500

Armament 9x305mm, 12x127mm, 56x40mm, 34x20mm

Armor 127-229mm belt, 102mm deck, 279-330mm barbettes, 127-325mm turrets

Aircraft 4

Alaska was the lead ship of her class of large cruisers, a classification with few WW2-era peers. It was due to her unusual composition of a body as long as a battleship but yet the beam was as slim as a cruiser, while her displacement was much larger than a typical cruiser while not as heavily armed as a battleship. She was commissioned in 1944 with Captain Peter K. Fischler in command. Her shakedown cruise was conducted in the Chesapeake Bay in the United States and Gulf of Paria off Trinidad. After some time back to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, she left for the Caribbean Sea on 12 Nov 1944. She arrived in San Diego on 12 Dec and trained for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft tactics.

On 13 Jan 1945, Alaska arrived at Pearl Harbor, where Captain Kenneth H. Noble took command from Fischler, who was promoted to the rank of rear admiral. She set sail from Ulithi for the Japanese home islands on 10 Feb 1945, escorting carriers Saratoga and Enterprise as they conducted night bombing missions against Tokyo; on the same tour also covered the landing operations at Iwo Jima.

The next mission took Alaska toward the Japanese home islands again in Mar 1945, covering carriers Yorktown, Intrepid, Independence, and Langley. The task force was attacked by Japanese aircraft, and Alaska participated in the anti-aircraft formation that collectively downed 12 Japanese aircraft; Alaska was given credit for two kills and one friendly-fire (the American pilot survived). On the next day, 19 Mar 1945, Alaska, her sister ship Guam, the heavy cruiser Pittsburgh, the light cruiser Santa Fe, and three destroyer divisions escorted the damaged carrier Franklin back toward the American base at Guam. She defended against the few Japanese aircraft that attempted to challenge the withdrawing fleet.

In late Mar 1945, Alaska continued to escort carriers as they launched air strikes against the island of Okinawa. On 27 Mar, large cruisers Alaska and Guam, cruisers San Diego and Flint, and Destroyer Squadron 47 were detached from the task force and was given the mission to bombard the small island of Minami Daito Shimo 257km east of Okinawa. At 0030 on 28 Mar 1945, Alaska fired 45 high-capacity shells from her main battery and 352 shells from her 5-in guns toward the island.

After returning from her bombardment mission, Alaska continued to escort carriers off Okinawa until early May 1945. She anchored at Ulithi on 14 May after a nearly two-month cruise.

Alaska left port as a part of the Third Fleet on 24 May 1945. She bombarded the island of Okino Daito Shima on 9 Jun with her sister ship Guam. She made port call at San Pedro Bay, Leyte, Philippines on 13 Jun. She set sail as part of Task Force 95 on 13 Jul for Okinawa and then the East China Sea. No Japanese ships were sighted during their patrol, a sign of the effectiveness of the blockade on the Japanese home islands.

After the war, Alaska served in China and Korea as a part of the 7th Fleet. She remained in Tsingtao, China until 13 Nov 1945 when she sailed for Jinsen (now Inchon), Korea to bring American servicemen back home. She was inactivated on 13 Aug 1946 and was decommissioned in Feb 1947. She was sold to the Lipsett Division of Luria Brothers of New York City for scrap on 30 Jun 1960.

There, that should keep the wolves busy while he rearranged this video some more.

He looked up and saw the network running a video of the same statistics under a voice over about how shortsighted it was of the Navy to let one of its last, best, gunfighters go to the breakers. After leaving her not updated and rotting for thirteen years. Even more ridiculous was her ninety percent complete sister Hawaii being abandoned immediately never finished and scrapped first. The other Alaska sister, Guam, was sent to the breakers a year after Alaska. They were pitching it as a slight against first peoples. Man, this was going to turn ugly. They were getting this stuff fast too!

Now, who the hell was Gunther Yarrow. Bagrat worked his sources and then blinked. He got Gunther Yarrows service record. He was a plank holder on Alaska and served thirty-five years, World War two, Korea, and the Indo China war. Holy crap! He was a gunner's mate! He was a crewman on the number one main battery turret of Alaska! Oh, shit, he got arrested for living in the turret and ship when she was in the reserve fleet! The guy had two Navy crosses. When he was stationed near her he lived in her, apparently a lot of her crew did. Arrested five times, with a bunch of other Chiefs. He worked with the underwater demolition teams when they went to commando operations in Korea, and then with the original SEAL program. His list of decorations was three pages! Well, he was on the news so this could get posted too, not like he was a cape or this wasn't public domain information you get from the Navy.

Gun Bunny

In Lorraine's, a surprisingly pleasant restaurant, for its being in a casino, brothel, arcade, dance club, several dance clubs, thing, Natalie looked around. There were hundreds of stories here. She had obviously been wasting her time in Hartford. She listened as Gunther asked Justine "So how does she do fire control?"

Justine grinned "She is Gun Bunny. She is fire control. Whatever system she deploys she can control and can see everything within its capabilities."

The makeup artist of all people rolled his eyes "Honey, she deployed a A10 Charlie, my sister flies those things, they can range thousands of miles."

Justine just grinned. Gunther cracked the table up "Fucking Thinkers."

Justine nodded "I know right? She makes them where just plain folks can run them, like the five sixty twos she left in Australia, but when she wants to run them, she just does. I have some video some maniac got of the guns firing at the Simurgh, it's like they have ghost crews loading the drum magazines in the barbettes."

Natalie asked "Barbettes?"

Justine waved to Gunther "You got this Guns."

Natalie blinked while Gunther grinned at Justine "Guns?"

Gunther nodded and the makeup artist supplied "Gunners Mate, in the Navy they are called Guns. It's a thing."

Natalie narrowed her eyes at Justine "And you knew he was a gunner's mate how?"

Justine grinned "Theshadowknows, girl in the know, certified know it all."

Gunther snorted "About Battery Lordsport. They been talking about this a while then?"

Justine nodded "Bakuda built a thing, wants the twelve-inch guns to launch the cargo. I think the one thing could be, or is bomblets, but the other is a unitary warhead. Gun Bunny will go capped AP, super heavy, but her THB alloy."

Gunther nodded and ordered the prime rib. Natalie was expensing everything. Justine wrinkled her nose and went for the lobster. "And Bakuda got her freeze grenades to work, figured out how to make them quit working too. That's what did the Grey Boy areas. So, I was right, righter than I knew. They are going to freeze him into an area then whatever that unitary thing is will kill him. If Gun Bunny can't get him with a super heavy mark eighteen."

The research assistant looked up from her notebook and pulling video about everything they talked about to email to the producer and New York. "But they don't know where he will attack?"

Justine shrugged "They put that turret in in two hours. Gun Bunny practices and she will get faster. So will the dogs. She does the A10's as she is falling from one now."

"My sister cries every time she does too. Her squadron has a graveyard out front, with little Warthog shaped headstones, one for every one of the twenty seven she destroyed fighting Ziz." The makeup artist nodded. "I think they want them to be Kanmusu airplanes."

Gunther looked away in the distance for a minute "If only that could happen for real. I'd like to see Alaska again. Probably too much to ask, she was thirty thousand tons. That turret is nine hundred fifty or so, all that stuff they added below decks has to have it up to a thousand tons or better. Those Mark forty fives in Canberra all together were seven, maybe eight hundred tons, she did maybe seven hundred tons of airplanes, twenty five tons at a time, while she did the mark forty fives. She is getting stronger.

"If she is making it where people can run the guns, she will have to do fire control and sensing for it. I'll talk to her."

Justine nodded while the news people scribbled "I looked at those plans they showed her at the end. You could just see them in the video. I think it's all automated. Sherrel is doing fire control. I'm going to suggest a drone, since we are land based, a Gray Eagle. It can stay up for twenty-five hours and carry any payload we need."

Natalie piped up "Why didn't Gun Bunny just drop bombs on Leviathan, or let the Airforce."

Justine snorted and arched a brow at Gunther "You're up Chief."

"Thanks. Not to cast aspersions on a sister service or members of my own service, the real data on precision bombing is not quite as advertised, as for moving targets, well the accuracy drops even more. Don't get me wrong, there have been spectacular successes, and the circular error probability has reduced from thousands of feet in World War Two, to say twenty-five feet with guided bombs, that is on a stationary target, and still only within twenty-five feet. Naval rifles, with their fire control, are designed to hit moving targets, from a platform moving in three or four axis, thirty-five kilometers away. With a projectile a foot in diameter, as quickly as possible. You can make them do tricks on the way as well, dispense a bomblet every meter for example." Gunther looked at Natalie who was scribbling again and her researcher who was pulling up reports on the accuracy of bombing.

The makeup artist nodded "Sis would much rather use that big ass cannon of hers. Guided missiles are like teenagers she says, sometimes they just do what they want. Of course, it could be she just has issues. Used to beat me up enough."

Gun Bunny

Missy looked at Dennis who was chuckling "Well?"

"Gun Bunny is driving the internet out of its mind. Vista?" He looked around and finally found her across the street watching the news on a TV in a store window? Stores still did that? What the hell, was this miracle on thirty fourth street or some shit? He crossed to where she was standing "Vista?"

"This will be trouble." Vista got out her phone.

Dennis shrugged "Closed captioning says a special report is coming at eleven."

He listened as the console directed them to the Battery. Vista got them onto a roof and across town in two steps, down inside the fence in two more and into the Battery in another. Dennis's head was swimming a bit as they waited on the elevator listening to rock music playing irritatingly softly in the background.

Gun Bunny

Taylor, Amy and Rachel had been met coming off the elevator by Rune with baggy tank tops, those huge ones that were nearly dresses. Rachel scowled "More clothes!" Taylor just looked at her. She sighed "Dad." Taylor nodded. Danny didnt like them eating dinner 'nearly naked'. They put the shirts on.

Rune led them in opening the door. They all got seated and everyone looked at Taylor, who rolled her eyes then said "Eight o clock, they are doing some kind of special report for eleven."

Sherrel whistled "Made Natalie's career, or it will. You have never talked to the press before."

Taylor blinked "We put out a press release every other day!"

"Never talked to a reporter before though, at least one on one." Sherrel grinned at her and started the platter of rare roast beef around the table.

Taylor dished herself some mashed potatoes and passed the bowl as she thought about it. "Just happened. I certainly didn't intend to advance Natalie Morales career."

Lucy looked at Taylor "You are very calm. Where are they and when are we doing this interview?"

Rachel got up and went to the door as the dogs gathered in front of it. Taylor watched her as she spoke "Justine had them. We are going to talk to them at eight, I sent them to Lorraine's."

Lisa sighed "The rest of them will be at the gate any minute."

Amanda shook her head as Lisa let Dennis and Missy in "This more intimate interview with a female reporter could be very useful. Let's eat and we will put something together. Let me, oh never mind. Damn Justine can text fast." She had gotten her phone out of somewhere and was looking at it.

Missy glared at Dennis staring at Amanda's tank dress thing. Obviously wondering where that phone had been in there. "Female magic, leave it. So, you guys know then?"

Taylor nodded "Yeah we got it."

"Well, Legend and maybe Alexandria are coming in."

Lisa shook her head "That's a wrong signal, shouldn't they be hanging out with Eidolon after his tantrums?"

Taylor nodded "I'm not trying to take any of their places."

Danny rubbed his chin "Might send the right message to Natalie though."

Missy nodded "So, I have to ask, WTF over?"

Sarah raised her hand "My fault. I need the guns to do a thing with a thing."

Dennis sighed "Tinker bullshit. Here we go."

Danny chuckled "If it works, we can build the guns and sell them to everywhere. If it will freeze Leviathan, won't it freeze any of them?"

The girls looked thoughtful, Dennis's face palmed and Sarah shrugged "But the black hole should kill him, or at least move him far away. and the plan is that Taylor sets up a turret on the next one and we black hole their asses too. If we can get a little warning it should work."

Sherrel nodded "Hopefully, I mean who wants a frozen Endbringer on their lawn?"

Dennis spluttered "That's my deal!"

Amy looked at him "You go first then. With a helicopter you probably won't get sucked in the black hole."

Missy pointed at Dennis and laughed. Danny shook his head "Play nice everyone. I bet they still want the guns if you make it work. Even just the freezing. We should figure out a price." Danny got out a tablet causing Taylors jaw to drop. "I'd say fifty million apiece. So, if the US was to buy enough to cover the coast, say seven hundred of them, that would be thirty-five billion. Stop the latest sexy fighter and the DoD could afford it easy. Not even stop it. Slow it down a little. Damn things average a hundred and seventy-eight million apiece. So not purchasing two hundred or so of them pays for it all. Most people live near the coast, so odds are the Endbringers would get into range of one of them. Yeah, let me work on this and we can pitch it to Natalie, see what she thinks."

Missy chuckled "I think some Admirals and Generals will have babies over it. Some Senators and Congressmen too."

Taylor waved "The shock will do them good."

Dennis covered his face with both hands "They are going to lynch us."

Taylor smiled "I doubt it."

Dennis sat in a empty chair "fuck, my life."

Amy nodded "Preach brother."

The startled "Hey!" From Sarah broke everyone but Dennis up.

Crystal strode in waving her phone "What the hell guys? I go on one date and you have a gun show!" She pouted at the renewed laughter.

Gun Bunny

Natalie checked herself in the mirror and nodded. She shrugged into her jacket in the van, and stepped out into the bright lights. She strode up to the door of the Battery under the glare of her fellow reporter's camera lights and one side of the double, armored, door opened for her. Justine smiled at her, "Well, come on then." Her camera man was walking in circles filming the wide hallway with its pictures of fights the girls had been in, and weapons hanging on the walls. They reached a set of double doors about two hundred feet down the hall and she and her crew were led into a room that could only be an operations center and conference room.

Justine led them over to where Chief Yarrow was talking animatedly to a smiling teenage girl and an older man. "And that's when I fished him out of the bay."

The girl, Taylor Hebert, Gun Bunny, grinned at the middle-aged man and then laughed "For shame dad! Underaged drinking!"

The man, Danny Hebert, Natalie realized sighed "The drinking age was eighteen then, and I had had two beers. It was a rogue wave."

Gunther nodded "Or the wake off that bulk carrier you didn't see behind you as you fought the tuna that was going to make you rich." He winked at Taylor and held his hands about two feet apart.

Danny grunted "Nearly got a beating over that rod and reel. Would have if you hadn't fished it up on one of your lines."

Gunther nodded "So you owe me Taylor. You can pay me back by letting me work with you all on the guns."

Taylor blinked "Uh, Dad owes you I think, but fine. We have some plans from the Army. We tinked them. I'd like somebody who knows what they are doing to look at them before we test the guns." She looked up "Natalie Morales." Natalie watched her rise lithely from her chair and just keep rising. She was wearing a fitted silk blouse, cream, blue slacks, and four-inch heel pumps. She was immaculate. And gorgeous, in that way that only teenage girls can be. Fresh, wholesome. All American in her case. "You know Legend and Alexandria I'm sure." Natalie started, how had she been so focused on this girl that she had missed two members of the Triumvirate, the two members who weren't crazy villain murdering machines at this point, sitting at the table. Wait a minute, if they were here…. All of that went through her head as she was introduced around the table, to Amy Dallon, Panacea, and Rachel Lindt, Bitch last.

Taylor sat, Amy on one side of her and Rachel on the other. She waved at the chair across the long table from her and asked brightly "So what do you want to know?"

Natalie breathed deeply "Everything." She answered in a breathless kind of voice. The others at the table and her crew chuckled. Her crew was rapidly getting set up.

Taylor nodded "I'm a parahuman. I make weapon systems. I want to kill the Endbringers." She looked around shyly "I have some good friends and a good father."

Natalie smiled at her warmly "OK, good start, now do you mind if we expand on that?" The make up artist looked at Taylor, sighed and shook his head, walking away. The camera man turned on the light for both cameras, one on a tripod facing Natalie and the other on his shoulder, and gave a thumbs up

Amy reached onto the table and grabbed Taylor's hand on her right as Rachel did the same on her left "Told you that wouldn't work."

Rachel nodded "Talking." She said without her usual growl.

Gun Bunny

"Glen Chambers will have to be put on suicide watch." Rebecca said.

Paul chuckled and waved the phone he was texting on. "They are fucking good. So good I can't tell whether it's an accident, or on purpose. They had her eating out of their hands, for two and a half hours. Her producer and the producers in New York as well, when they were teleconferenced in. The country is going to come to a halt to watch this special report."

Rebecca snorted "Three thinkers, three tinkers, whatever the hell Gun Bunny really is, and a master. A shaker, Alexandria package, god knows what else we don't know about. I think they have the abilities and somebody is really good at putting them all together. Those PRT and Protectorate Logos over in the operations side of the room on two in five of those monitors might have been a little much. The camera man sure didnt miss them. Natalie is very single minded though. I almost feel insulted, only being asked a few questions on how we feel about the guns.

"Thirty billion dollars. All of the departments are going to give up some budget for that."

"Even if just the freezing part works. I wonder why she doesn't just drop a crowbar on him from orbit." Paul frowned thoughtfully.

Rebecca eyed him for a minute "Go home, get Arthur and watch the special, then tell him what happened that didn't make it to video, and ask him that question."

Paul watched her fly away and sighed "What?" He looked around and flew off.

Gun Bunny

Taylor grinned at Danny in the kitchen as he picked up his glass of water "So? Not going to stay up and watch?"

"Meh, Lisa will. I'll get the detailed analysis and retraining tomorrow before we do the walk through of the turret."

Danny nodded "Ready for the circus tomorrow?"

"Ha! It's a circus every day."

"And in the center ring, Gun Bunny and the amazing prancing reporter."

"I didn't lead her around Dad. She went all those places on her own."


	19. Chapter 19

Gun Bunny 19

James, Jimmy as he liked to be called looked at Natalie "Honey they are just girls. You need to relax, or even this waterproof stuff is going to run. Plus, you know what, you are too hot. Go get in the shower, nothing more than just warm enough to stand in. I know you were nervous and so got up at ungodly dark thirty and went to the hotel gym but you over did it. I'll go get some nosh and we will have a couple hour spa session. Get you together. Good thing I came in here two hours early. I knew you were going to do this."

Natalie tossed him a pout and got shoved in the bathroom. He left and Natalie sighed. Mary, her producer pointed to the shower "That on and in. We got a career maker yesterday, you are already going to the bigs. The morning show producers from other networks have been calling me. Now today we can get a Pulitzer."

Natalie laughed "So no pressure then."

"Hero to zero every time ones in the can Hun. You know that. Gun Bunny loves you though. Panacea and Bitch like you too."

"Rachel is so sweet! And-" She turned on the shower while stripping. "Handsome, the first time I have seen a girl that could apply to as other than a way to say something nice. Not cute, not 'not classically beautiful', handsome is the word for it."

"Uh huh and will have one of her dogs eat you if you move on her girl. The others too. Gun Bunny is a live trip wire. In this case hooked to weapons of mass destruction. And I'm not talking about that crazy ass Bakuda making a nuke. That child isn't wired right. The crazy drips off of her. I swear to god she was writing chemical formulas the whole time we were doing the interview. I looked at some of them. From what I remember from my chemical engineering money wasting bachelors they were all what we called 'energetic' in at least one phase. That's how chemistry people say bomb.

Gun Bunny

Jimmy looked at the camera and sound man "Come on, we have to get some food. If we don't feed the beast she isn't going to make it being around those girls all day. I have to make some calls too. Get some supplies in."

Hector, the camera man looked at him "Natalie is a good-looking young woman."

"Yep, and your camera is the devil. It makes women look fat and shiny, two things a female reporter can never be in America."

Clive, the sound man shrugged "You, and she will do fine. I just hope we don't go in that thing. It will be an echo chamber. Plus, I don't see the big deal. We already made the big leagues yesterday."

Jimmy looked at Hector who smiled and waved him at Clive "Honey, this is the worst business in the world for talent. If they don't make an anchor desk by thirty five they might as well retire."

Hector nodded "Or the booze and drugs get them. Females anyway. Males, maybe forty-five. Like that rapper said, you get one shot. And you have to make that with hard work, then make it work. Puke on your sweater and all. Sweet little Natalie gets into seven figures, sweet Jesus, eight, we get into high fives maybe sixes. It's not them dogs of Bitches you got to worry about, it's the cannibals on the other teams covering this. And today, well, somebody will have thrown a wounded, fat, white kid in the tribal celebration."

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked around at the other girls at breakfast "What?"

Rune chuckled "It's a sort of war between who has jurisdiction. The Army is after it because, costal artillery. The Navy is screaming bloody murder because Alaska class turret and twelve inch guns.

"The Coast Guard is just trying to be helpful, I think. They actually still run ships that steam. And have manned turrets, though not that big.

"The Airforce is a bit desperate, and flailing, searching for relevance to justify those outlandish manned next sexy fighter budgets. Bagrat dug up every word they have ever said officially while trying to get rid of the A10 and the CAS mission and is beating them mercilessly with it on PHO. I think he is, fuck I don't know what he is. The news networks took off with the 'insult to first peoples' from the Navy. Bagrat went after the Airforce for some odd reason.

"The Marines actually ran turrets on some ships. Usually five inch though. They do have institutional knowledge of Gunnery. They seem to be letting the Navy and Army pachyderms fight it out, while trying a flanking maneuver, with enfilading fire of being helpful as well."

"What the actual fuck? Where did you get all that Heidi?"

"Major Jorgensen, Swedish, blond, big boobs, the Swedish armor corps rep. She is loving watching this shit. So is the Australian and Brazilian Liaison."

"We have liaisons?"

Rachel nodded "To go with the units they sent to be your personal guard. They stay downstairs."

"Wut? Personal what?"

Amy felt of Taylors forehead "Not hot. You seem OK."

Lisa nodded "Lots going on and it was kind of mentioned in passing when Taylor was modifying the plans for the turret. Which by the way, what the hell? Are we sure she isn't a tinker? Cause well, really. Look at these." She waved a sheaf of papers.

Danny walked in with a bundle under his arm "All I've been doing since last night. Sorry I wasn't there to cook this morning girls. The Black Seal shop and electrical guys worked on the permits all night. We can't figure out who to get to permit the cannons but Roy is working on it. Did you know he knows the President? Went to school with him or something. So anyway, you have a Black Seal cold inspection this morning and the turbo generators, along with the regular generators, have control and unpowered inspections at the same time. How did you know what a modern control room looks like? I mean the code requirements for one. This CIC too?"

"The what?"

Sarah looked at Sally "Maybe she is a tinker then."

Sally shrugged "I'm thinking she trumped you, Sherrel and Amy for it. All of your separate little plans and drawings came together in hers. Along with the original and the Army mods. Or the most useful version of them that she could make work together. Though where we are getting a twelve-inch, high pressure, gas main to feed the beast I don't know. Or she is just a super genius."

Sarah put her finger on a spot on the drawing "One of the portals is right here on this fuel supply line. Pressure you don't need to worry about as that will be coming from my miner thing which is like ultra-fracking all the time. Poor damn thing runs in a pure methane environment at this point, under thousands of pounds of pressure. We have to pump in oxygen for it to burn in a sealed chamber. We should be proud though? We made a thing that runs in an explosion? Maybe we can send one to talk to Ash Beast.

"Hmmm I need to look at these valves and pressure regulators. Not sure she had the current figures. These seem to be last months. You always find gas with the stuff you really want you know? Crap is a pain. We can hardly sell it fast enough.

"These two twin turbine rooms will help, and cogeneration as well. Oh, commercial steam too. I can get her water without any scale minerals, and deoxygenated, easy, an adjustment to the miner. Take two seconds. Man, we might all be filthy rich. Con Ed is going to have a baby. This looks like a couple thousand megawatts. Actually, closer to three. All from burning crap I have been trying to figure out what to do with and how to get the useful stuff out of. Oh, she exhausts the gas and particulate to me here. I wonder if Amy will mind me having her babies."

Sally gaped at her "Amy will kill you and Rachel will feed your body to the dogs."

"Dogs don't eat people. That's cats. They eat old ladies."

"What is even happening right now?"

"I though lightning dragons would be quick." Sarah grinned at her "Can't keep up?"

"I hate you so much, go ask Amy to make you pregnant by Taylor."

Gun Bunny

Jimmy watched as Natalie was taken away and then came back stuffed into a boiler suit, a literal boiler suit, that would make straight guys never watch another network. Tailored wasn't the word for that thing. It was even working with her makeup. It had a name tag and an NBC patch on the shoulder. Obviously, the Battery Lordsport wardrobe department was on its game. "Wait, did they work on her hair? I mean I figured hard hat but they've made that look fabulous!"

Hector zoomed into a head shot "Award winner right there, look at that smile, go Natalie, go!"

America watched fascinated as a Black Seal steam pre-firing inspection happened right before their eyes. General Electric got their lawyers watching as those looked like their turbines. Labeling happened as the inspectors pointed out where it was needed and explained how it should look. Gunther had a Machinist Mate Chief friend who had some people who were sitting the operating exams while Taylor did a verbal exam.

Hector got a kid running battery packs for the team. A kid on a motor cycle. They were the only camera crew and reporter allowed inside. The inspectors treated the plant it as if it was a temple. And they the Cardinals.

Finally, in a conference room the senior inspector intoned the invocation "You may steam." Natalie nearly hopped up and down. They adjourned to the control room and Taylor went through the start procedure for just the turbines. Everyone, TV audience included held their breath. The turbines fired and annunciators rang and clanged for a few seconds. Red lights turned amber then green. Row after row of them. Taylor started the feed water pumps and opened the coil relief to get the air out. She closed it when a camera showed a solid stream of water. Then as the heat built, brought in the steam turbines. The electrical inspectors now watched closely having been over the electrical side with a fine-tooth comb as their Black Seal brothers had been over the power and steam side. The steam turbine generators came on and their lights went green.

Some phone calls were made and Taylor watched a guage dip then steady. She smiled "Brocton Bay is running on the new Alaska class plant."

Heidi face palmed hearing the singing start when Amy and Rachel hugged her, with her smudged, sweaty, smiling, face, then traded kissing her right there, on camera, in the control room.

Gun Bunny

Glen looked up from the TV in the PR office of the PRT ENE humming Take my Breath Away and smiling. You could see Vista standing there smiling, in costume, in the background of the shot. Nice camera work too. Just enough shake, like the cameraman was overcome with emotion. His PRT watchers took their hands off their tranq pistols.

Gun Bunny

Hector was overcome with muscle failure. They had been chasing his reporter and Gun Bunny around for twelve hours. Try that with a commercial shoulder camera someday. That was aside from setting up in the conference room and the control room. Clive looked at him as he helped him pack up what they were taking back to the hotel "Guns tomorrow. Function and calibration check anyway."

"Madre Dios." Hector rubbed his face "I am going to have to call some people. We are an embedded team now. I am going to have to have a couple more guys. You should get a couple more sound guys to work with them for B roll. This is too much work for just us."

Mary walked up "Editors and researchers too. Jill had to go lie down. Already handled. And we are the embed now. Our footage will go to the network pool. We get a crew with a junior reporter and producer from each network in the pool. The Army is advising Battery Lordsport on public affairs so let's assume the normal rules apply and expect review prior to release. They get one of their teams in and it should only be a few minutes, watch your live shots though, no sensitive stuff. Especially the down range results of the test."

Hector laughed "Like I have a drone and operator. This is Gun Bunny working with Bakuda and Squealer. Those guns will hit London."

"Maybe we need a drone. Probably not London, but I bet they get at least triple the range so-" She paused "Fuck, a hundred and fifteen, nearly sixteen, clicks as a planning factor."

Hector chuckled "You went right to clicks. Embed mentality already."

Mary paused again "I did, ok, you guys watch for that. We can't be all in love with these folks or we will miss their warts."

Jimmy walked up and laughed "Panacea will take care of those."

Clive chuckled darkly "Or you know, dogs, lightning, truck going to the moon. Gun Bunny shooting the fuck out of us. Something." Mary frowned.

Hector nodded "Step lightly Heffe, Talk to Lorraine and Charmain. They clued me in."

Jimmy nodded "Or Tommy, he is already my go to here. He works in the cabaret, He has his finger on the pulse of the community. The Truple are protected species, more than most. And this place can come up with more protection than most."

Mary nodded thoughtfully "Well, Natalie went with them for a break, then we are doing a patrol. How are you for low level light Hector? I got people bringing our stuff from the hotel, we got a room on a floor of the Battery, right under the military guys. Tattletale is working on passes and procedures for us. Be careful of her. I tried to get some leeway and she just grinned and worked around me. I didn't get anything at all. The Networks lawyers are going to talk to the Battery's lawyers."

"I got some stuff in the truck. One of whom is Brandish." Hector grinned at Mary's sour look.

Gun Bunny

Ryu looked at Natalie "You know you are playing with literal fire right."

Natalie nodded and kept washing vegetables "Lightning I thought in your case, and Gun Bunny hasn't come out with a flame thrower yet, I bet it's a doozy when she does though." She grinned brightly.

Sally snorted "OK, so not stupid. She uses white phosphorous by preference, she gets range and kinetic effects out of it."

"Nice to know. Look, you girls aren't just the hottest story going. This town is a hot story, the Truple are a hot story, frankly you being Lungs daughter is a hot story. Aside from that Taylor seems to be exactly what she says, a teenage girl trying to figure it out and be helpful.

"Help on her level is something world needs more of. I won't jeopardize that to further what was a career by accident, because I look like this, and can talk on camera, in a voice that people don't find unpleasant. I won't whitewash things for you all either though. I report things. I don't, unlike most of my colleagues, try to shade them. I dig until I find what is interesting then dig until I find the truth. Tomorrow Chief Yarrow and his crew may declare the guns unsafe. That will be interesting. I am sure what you all do to fix that will be even more interesting. I know she isn't going to quit.

"Gunny Hausen already has a plan working for the dogs to dig the holes and Taylor to put in a three turret emplacement. I think this has a chance of stopping an Endbringer with no injuries even. You all already did the Simurgh with no direct combat fatalities."

Sally shook her head "Half a day and people tell you anything."

Natalie grinned "Good at my accidental career. Or lucky. I did meet Justine."

"So, I am going to have to talk to Justine then."

"She hasn't given up anything people don't already know. Someone talked to her about OPSEC. You guys should hire her to run your PR and Web presence. Or pay her rather. She is already doing the work. Maybe get her a team with some senior staff too."

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked over the crowd in the conference room. The table now had twenty-five seats and the chairs against the walls held at least thirty. Two tables at the narrow ends held all kinds of food and drink from Lorraine's. "Sorry to hold you all up from your dinner."

Gunther Yarrow waved her off "The guys from Watervliet got here and Squealer had to prove her x ray machine. We just got here ourselves."

Mr. McKenzie retired Chief, electrician, 'Mack' of course, also nodded "And the guys from GE power just got here. We will take them through instrumenting the plant tomorrow while you and guns are busy. They don't believe our instruments. Apparently seventy eight percent thermal efficiency isn't possible. Plus, I had to get the watches set up. I'll go check the midwatch tonight." Taylor opened her mouth and he nodded "Yes I know, you see it all and can run it. They need to learn to teach others though. Every city in America is going to want one. Oh, and the EPA is coming with the GE people. They don't believe our instruments or the State EPA. Hurt feelings time there. It should be fun. For me to watch anyway."

Danny grinned "Or one per half million people. No more brown outs. Plus it doesn't take five years to build."

Sarah shrugged "Not like we don't have the gas, pressure still not dropping. If it does, we can start the new thing headed for California."

Natalie asked "So this could make it where we could take all the coal plants offline?"

Sarah nodded "Coal is much more useful than gas. Got to save it. Mine, it's all mine!"

Sally face palmed "Please shut up."

"So, should we have Natalie here, uh no offense?" Taylor asked.

Lisa nodded "Nothing sensitive and we would have to have the meeting to go over what is going on with Natalie and Mary tomorrow after this or we can just do it now. It's a schedule. Kind of boring."

Mary grinned "Only to you. To us it's the beginning of a shooting schedule and script. We will have teams working the 'midwatch' for the Morning shows. The thirty-minute news cycle will eat you alive if you don't stay ahead of it. A seven-minute piece takes about eight hours work form five or six people."


	20. Chapter 20

Gun Bunny Twenty

Taylor opened her eyes and got thoroughly kissed. "Morning Rachel."

"Yep."

Taylor arched a brow and squawked as Amy leapt on her from nowhere "Fucking Ninja! Damn. Oh, damn." Taylor relaxed into getting traded between her girlfriends, and doing some trading of her own.

Lisa looked at a bright eyed and bushy tailed Natalie "No interrupting Truple time. Come on, we will go rustle up grub. If Danny isn't here. Just tea and a biscuit or something. We have-" She paused and checked her phone "Oh god, upper body today. I hate going to school with sore boobs. Well not the boobs but the muscles under them. Thank god for Amy. If she isn't in a 'pain is weakness leaving the body' mood."

Sally walked in "Truple time? Well it is Sunday. Morning Natalie. How did you figure out the dress code?" Natalie, Mary, and the researcher were in sports bra and yoga shorts with cross trainers.

Natalie smiled "Kind of just makes sense? Uh, how long are you girls going to be doing personal hygiene and breakfast after PT? I have to cool down before Jimmy does makeup or it doesn't go on right. I don't want another cold shower.

"And personal hygiene? Who wrote this schedule?"

Sally laughed "Gunny Hausen. Chief Yarrow did all the parts after Breakfast. Jeeze these guys are ambitious."

Sarah clomped up in her chunky cross trainers. She still moved like a pulling guard, Much to Sally's displeasure. "Good. We need to get started testing. The sooner we can make the geeks happy the sooner we can make shit go boom.

"I got two target areas, one at sea and one on land. The Coast Guard have approved the sea one. Apparently we are waiting on the Fed for the land one since we are firing into a wildlife management area. Something about geese and treaties. Fucking PETA is already filing suit about whales too. Fish as well, sea kittens my ass. I don't eat cats, well now that the Golden Dragon is closed. Cheap North Korean bastard imitating a Chinese restaurant. I eat the fuck out of some blue fin though. There aren't any whales in the test area this time of year. The Lawyers are working on it." She looked around "Truple time? Jesus, they should just bang. Get it out of their systems."

Glory Girl walked in "Taylor is under age, plus we are letting them go slow and get as solid as they can remember. So no suggesting. Plus, who the fuck wound you up so tight this morning. Speaking of needing to get laid."

"They are going to wait until Taylor is eighteen? Wait Amy is only a few months older than her. Fuck, Rachel will be a smurf. No one, good idea though, tough to work it in. I am still waiting on Amy to put Taylors babies in me."

Lisa rolled her eyes "You have a death wish. Consensual and all underage. Grey area. Rachel could get in trouble in a few months but I would like to see someone make something stick to her. Taylor would just shoot them. I don't even want to contemplate what Amy would do, make them fifteen years old at the least."

Natalie and Mary blinked. Mary waved the cup of tea she had been handed "She can do that? Holy crap. How much money could you people make?"

Sarah shrugged "All of it? I mean Thing One produces about a hundred ounces of gold a week. Platinum, rarer elements even, osmium and iridium. No diamonds, yet. Hmm we should find a kimberlite pipe. There is that one in Arkansas? It has yellow diamonds though. Mostly. And it's weird. Lamprosite rather than kimberlite. Anyway, point is, none of us are poor. Like you though it's because of accidents of fortune.

"Our trainers and thinkers keep working on ways for us to use the abilities we have to make money. Despite the Governments interference and general hostility to parahumans. Tiny voting block, so limited power. Unless, well Gun Bunny, or Panacea. S class parahumans. They do pay attention to them."

The researcher shook her head "That's a threat classification. You guys are affiliates."

Glory Girl grinned "And I guarantee you somewhere in the PRT is a document with our threat classifications. They keep them on the Protectorate Heroes too. Brockton Bay has four S class threats. Gun Bunny, Panacea, Ryu, and Purity. As for us, A class at least. Which makes Sarah salty, she wants her S. Gun Bunny is far and away the biggest threat, she has the biggest body count."

"Hey those were bangers!" Gun Bunny walked in.

Panacea pinched her "Still people, we talked about this."

"Talking." Bitch scowled.

Panacea rolled her eyes "See what I have to put up with? Neanderthals."

Gun Bunny smirked "I can cave woman you back to bed."

Rachel turned to Panacea "Don't you dare pick me up Bitch."

Lisa interrupted before Panacea got carried off "OK, tea is up, and biscuits. Then PT. You know Hausen will be merciless if we are late. You three can play in the shower after." She smirked at the three blushes. Then did a double take at Rachel blushing.

Rune snickered "Yep true love. You three are impossible. How are we supposed to fuck up the band bitches if you are all in love and blushing at each other? Christ, we got the rest of football season to go too. The cheerleaders will lose their shit if you do this in public. Where is Danny? I have to get him to sign a note so you can get over this."

Gun Bunny frowned "Note?"

"Parental permission." The three blushed again. Rune face palmed.

"So, super powered high school is still high school?"

"You have no idea." Ryu nodded.

Gun Bunny

Jimmy nodded "That note is a good idea. I'll talk to Nathan. He can get with Brandish."

"How do you have a gay network in two days?" Hector asked.

"Oh honey, it's the regular network. The gay community isn't actually that large, so a lot of us know each other from marches, clubs, whatever."

"So like the Latino community."

"Smaller even, plus cultural issues on top of gay issues. It's a mess. Nat, very nice, you have to exercise with the girls every morning. You are done. Come here Pamela. You get in camera range, and while you are very nice, you still shine. Mary is the only one with enough situational awareness to stay out of the viewfinder. I can knock your shine down if you want Mary?"

Mary nodded "Lots of people to meet. Probably should do full warpaint. Got the mayor later at the turret. Jimmy nodded.

Clive frowned "On camera? In the echo chamber? I need some more covers. Foam and fur I think."

Hector shook his head "And Gun Bunny, the rest of the Battery?"

"Panacea is a better makeup artist than me honey. Hers' is permanent too, I think. That plus the Goddess is trying to get teenage girls pregnant. For most of history the average life span was under thirty, so they needed to be pregnant early and often. That way their offspring is old enough to survive on their own when mom got taken out. Mother nature is the ultimate pragmatist."

Mary looked thoughtful "Clive, you should talk to Gun bunny before the firing test. There probably needs to be some sound attenuation in the turret. Although, shouldn't the generators already be making noise?"

Clive nodded "Sound is vibration, Squealer says if it is escaping to atmosphere its wasted energy. That's why you feel it more than hear it. That vibration has to go somewhere, but she has it doing something on the way."

"Compacting the structure, and the rock it's in, and on. I asked yesterday. The longer it runs the stronger it gets." Pamela supplied. "Still researching that. It is allegedly theoretically possible. I can't wait to see what they do with the muzzle blast from the guns. Those projectile shapes are obviously optimized for something besides cargo and the distribution of that cargo. They would just be a cylinder if that was true. Not have canards, fins, and that odd shape. Its a lifting body. Makes sense, high supersonic to hypersonic velocities." She shrugged. Jimmy hit her in the face with a powder puff.

"Even the squeal." Hector shook his head.

Clive nodded "They would make my grandmother proud, and she grew up in the depression. They don't waste anything."

Gun Bunny

Taylor nodded her head "Makes sense to me. Everything needs to be inspected. Testing is nice, if we can do it nondestructively. "

Gunther chuckled "Well first I got a line of guys Amy is going to have to lay hands on. Army and Navy guys. One of them is a hundred and eight. He was one of the designers. Worked at the Naval Gun Factory in New York. Which was in New Jersey. Another, Army guy, worked at Watervliet, ninety nine. Him and the Navy guy got in a fistfight if you can believe it. Engineers, go figure."

Taylor arched a brow then sighed "I'm going to have to shoot them in the ass aren't I?"

Gunther grinned "You have that break action twelve gauge pistol. When did you hear about being a Mahout anyway? Light powder loads and rubber buck shot should do it. Don't see how that thing doesn't break your wrist."

"Who ratted me out? It was Heidi wasn't it? I'll take her howdah back! That thing is great for keeping idiots off the zeppelin though. That girl, it's that blond hair and those boobs. The blue eyes don't help, I always underestimate how smart she is. Like that forties actress who did classified science Hedy Lamarr, only blond. She has probably already been over every inch of this mount, and the guns."

Gunther had to put his hands on his knees to support himself as he laughed until he thought he pulled something. Taylor was just like a sailor. Having two girls didn't stop her looking at the third. She was just like one of the boys back in the day.

Gun Bunny

Amy went down the line. With several people bringing her materials. She got to the two Chief Designers and folded her arms "You two. All right, here is how this is going to go. I am going to fix you up. If you fight instead of working together I am going to unfix you and give you dysentery. Let you shit yourselves to death. You will check out my girlfriend's guns and their mount using all your professional and personal knowledge, if you disagree we will have a reasonable discussion, then Taylor will decide what to do, with your advice. Once she decides that is it. Got it?" The two looked at each other.

The Navy man nodded "Aye Aye Ma'am."

The Army engineer agreed "Yes Ma'am."

Amy glared at them some more then got started. By the end of the day she wished she hadn't. The fourteen hour day of them crawling in, around and under the gun house, mount, flats, and all the equipment from the powder magazine to the optical range finder. Inside the breeches and into the tubes even. All the while spewing memories and names. They had camera crews following them and filming every second. With eager reporters thinking up questions and getting post-doctoral lectures on gun, mount, and fire control design. Lisa was finding some of the named individuals alive and contacting them. Tomorrow would bring another crew of cranky geriatrics and more discussions.

Gun Bunny

After the guns and mount were inspected, the mount was powered up and series of test conducted. Starting with moving the guns and all the machinery through the full range of motion they were capable of. It was watched live, like an early Apollo mission. Teachers turned on projectors and white boards across the country showed every second. In some of the schools the traditional AV cart was dragged out and the TCV on it warmed up. The networks were scrambling for expert commentators. Taylor had essentially cornered the market. They fell back to engineers and architects.

Taylor wasn't having parbuckling, she felt having a projectile that weighed close to a ton being dragged across the polished metal floor of the shell flat to the rotating structure with a rope and a capstan was a dangerous practice on land. She had no idea how they kept the shells from tipping over and rolling around, like a literal lose cannon, at sea and when they were making extreme maneuvers at speed. Her robot arms on tracks in the ceiling of the magazines and projectile handling rooms were run through getting powder bags and projectiles from what Gunther and the other gunners remembered as the most awkward locations. The hydraulic clamps securing the rounds release had to be timed with the robot arms operation. Then they backed up and smoothed out the operation and got it into the control computer for the projectile and powder handling robots control processor. One of the retired Gunners Mate Petty officers did the robots handling shells. Another did the ones handling powder and a third did the robot operating and priming the breach of each gun. The gun fired electrically or by percussion. It had to have a primer tube put in every time it was opened.

The guns were X –rayed and then the loading process tested and measured. At low speed at first then as fast as Taylor could load the guns. She got it down to seventeen seconds. Three rounds a minute or two hundred and eleven an hour at sustained rate caused some debate in the engineer group over what the guns were actually capable of now that they were made of compacted Gun Bunny alloys.

The girls wriggled up the gun breeches pulling the powder bags, inert ones for this test, and hooked the lifting eye recessed in the bottom of the rounds to the rammers which were then used to pull the rounds out. That system was worked on as well. A robot was added and programmed and a claw added to the rammer. The cone the lifting eye was in guided the hook into the eye when it was flipped forward by the powder handling robot They could now change projectiles and powder and keep the same three rounds a minute.

The engineers wanted a mount made made at the Yuma Proving Ground and tested to destruction before they would sign off on more than three rounds a minute.

While this was going on the Mayor, Roy Christner, showed up "Danny, busy day."

Danny laughed "You could say."

"Noticed you are hiring."

"The Union is offering memberships and training yes." Senior Navy and Army Officers watched this conversation silently. They knew politics. These two, so far, were displaying considerable mastery of the art.

"Good, helps the town."

"The area really. This side of the state. The governor was just on the phone. He seemed pretty happy." The gallery silently admired this shot across the Mayors bows.

"The President is a bit concerned about the guns and Bakuda." The gallery nodded, that was aimed center of visible mass. The potential for Battery Lordsport to become a nuclear power.

"She is a bit busy. She has some interesting projects. Amazing the things a tinker can do with what we think are mundane elements." And the Mayors shot hit the glacis and was deflected harmlessly. They admired Danny pointing out any tinker was capable of the same things. Nuclear weapons were the past. There were things more horrible in the world, much more.

"Generally Tinkers are under very stringent observation." TORPEDOS IN THE WATER! The gallery went very still.

Danny nodded "Generally they aren't dedicated to good. They start as kids doing kid things, playing if you will, then they get scooped up by the PRT and used by the government and its allies. Some of them go villain. I notice the machine army and Nilbog are still absorbing resources." Counter measures deployed and successful "We can move this operation to, say, Brazil or Australia.

Lieutenant Colonel Elsa Lindstrom cleared her throat." Sweden has testing facilities already prepared." CATs away! Running hot and normal! Allied submarine taking the aggressor under fire.

Brigadier Sanchez nodded "As does Brazil, we also have the workers necessary." Another ally appears on the horizon warming up missiles and training guns for a surface engagement.

Major General Stanley nodded "I think the risk is completely acceptable. Australia has millions of hectares of ground available for whatever purpose our hero citizens wish to put it to." Betrayal from a powerful ally! Withdraw and consolidate your position!

Roy smiled "It was a concern. I've assured John it is nothing to be worried about. Now, pending your team's inspections, and our evaluation of them concurring with their conclusion, when can we expect the firing test? Tattletale has submitted a request for us to evacuate a slice of town from the gun here to the north for next weekend. I thought they would want to test over water?" Going defensive, it was the only option really.

The battlefield had suddenly changed out of all recognition. This wasn't Pearl, where a potential enemy had been squeezed until they turned into a real enemy and afforded a political justification for entry into a war that had to be finished as it had been going on for over a hundred years and was bleeding America's special friend white. A justification that had to be had in the face of an isolationist electorate who didn't realize oceans were no defense in the face of even then prevalent aircraft. Losing Europe would take the major markets away from US companies. Japan could be dealt with, especially with the buffer of five thousand miles of blue water. Plus the Navy and Marine Corps didn't have much utility in Europe, with its high intensity land battles, but were eminently suitable to operations in the Pacific.

You had to learn from history or watch it repeat itself was not a truism for nothing. Australia's entry into this conflict on Battery Lordsport's side was unfortunate, but they had been neglecting their special friend for a while. Maybe they weren't exerting the influence on their children they used to. Battery Lordsport didn't have that history of neglect, and the damn Endbringers had provided them opportunities. Opportunities they had capitalized magnificently, at essentially no cost to themselves. Though considerable risk. Hell they were still doing it. If this project worked they would own the voters of this country as well.

The politicians and their paymasters, and really if you gave a politician money but didn't donate at least the same to charities weren't you paying for something? It was like those things in people's cars advertising their support of the police people paid police 'organizations' for, or license plates that showed you supported the police. Fruits of the poisonous tree. Sure indicators of a corrupt enterprise. Anyway, they needed to look at the reality of the situation and rethink. Pay for play was not going to work anymore. Not in the Endbringer paradigm. The quadrennial defense review had covered this. Of course the PRT and Protectorate were getting all the attention, not the quiet professionals of the defense establishment.

No matter, they would continue to support and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, as they ever had. Politics was a disgusting dirty business. This Hebert, he had managed to rise above the muck and mire of the trench warfare of politics for money. And he had disruptive technology on his side.

Gun Bunny

Natalie snickered at Taylor getting drug into a 'Head' by her girlfriends with shower caddies and back packs that afternoon. She was a sweaty frazzled mess. Panacea had spent her day in the 'Sick Bay' curing all comers and Bitch had been patrolling the perimeter and teaching humans obedience classes. Police and Military working dog handling humans. She was apparently 'talked' out and had decided it was quitting time. She checked hector and Clive and found them conspicuously filming the Chiefs standing conference going on in the 'Goat Locker'. Jesus she should join the freaking Navy. Ack, hell no, she wasn't hot racking with anybody!

Chief Joplin had been dragged into the Goat Locker conversation "They can steam, it's only been a day, but they are like the best black gang in history. Plus I don't know who estimated this thing at three or four megawatts. It's more three or four gigawatts.

Chief Westinghouse, no relation, nodded "On just the gas turbines its five megawatts. The steam turbines gave the order of magnitude increase. Probably a million horsepower in that plant. Tinkers, you know." He shrugged.

Chief Yarrow chuckled "Those guns are flawless too. The physical structure of them. The cycle is pretty close. If fire control works as modeled they will be able to drop a round in a trashcan at a hundred nautical miles."

Chief Ford agreed "It's pretty amazing, all digital. Dual redundancy and error checking. Man in the loop only for the firing impulse. Local control should get them to the horizon easy, at least in daylight.

Master Chief Boatwright summed up "So if we could stick the back two thirds of a ship on this bow section we could christen her Alaska and go to sea trials."

Gunther nodded a bit misty eyed "Might have to be a submarine though. It weighs more than its displacement for sure."

A gravelly voice spoke from the corner "Thank you Chiefs. Well, let's go tell the strap hangers. Someone set up a cover outside. We are meeting there."

Admiral (ret) Hoel rose and the Chiefs followed him out. It was a mark of the respect he had earned over his forty years of service from World war two through the ending days of the cold war. That and his rising from seaman apprentice to four stars.

As the Admiral entered the tent the Master Chief grinned and announced "Attention on Deck!"

The Admiral favored him with a scowl, as even some of the civilians had leapt up, he got a broad smile in return. "As you were. The Goat Locker has been feeling their oats. I'll get right to business as it is getting on in the evening, no doubt the members of the press have stories to file. It is the considered opinion of the advisory group that the guns and mount, locally known as Alaska A, are safe, and ready, for the live fire testing schedule. I will be so informing the Chief of the Joint Chiefs as that body has asked." He stepped away from the lectern and representatives from General Electric and Con Ed stepped up. Later, they wished they hadn't as all they could do was report that the readings from the people who had already inspected the mechanical plant were correct. Then get beaten mercilessly with questions. From reporters who had had over a day to digest the first reports.


	21. Chapter 21

Gun Bunny Twenty-One

Natalie looked at Mary "How the hell does Taylor stand it. Every organization from the military to NASA has signed off on the guns and still the politicians are just being ass hats."

Mary chuckled "Well, she has two pretty serious girlfriends. A hundred girls as friends. Half of them Parahumans. People are using her money and property to make her a trillionaire by the time she is eighteen. It all takes a bit of time. Oh, and she has stomped the villains on the east coast into a nasty mud hole. While the Triumvirate, or Eidolon, runs around throwing rage parties for S class threats.

"It's a new paradigm, and I think she is smart to be patient. Not only that, but she improves something on Alaska A everyday. Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the American Virgin Islands, America Samoa, all the US territories have petitioned for their own Battle Cruisers. The Navy is thinking of updating the design and building them. Four gas turbines in one of Battery Lordsport's cogeneration arrangements would give half a million horsepower or so for less than fifty tons of oil an hour. Ship that big could carry ten or eleven thousand tons of fuel and use it as part of the armor if you designed it right. I've seen some drawings Squealer has been playing around with. Freaking thing would do fifty knots.

"Plus you know, school."

Natalie nodded "That's what I mean! How much opposition can the damn politicians stand! Plus not sure why she bothers with school, other than her girlfriend goes there. The girl is obviously some kind of genius and as you said will be a trillionaire soon."

Mary chuckled "It's the law?"

Gun Bunny

Amy watched Taylor chasing a banger with rubber bullets "Angry Taylor?"

"Uh, no? Why?"

"Well, it's just that guy has been trying to surrender for five minutes and you keep shooting his hands when he tries to put them up."

Taylor blinked and dismissed the paintball pistol. "Sorry, sponge solids. Only eight hundred feet per second. Shouldn't have broken anything. Thinking about an improvement to the gun and then how to make it light enough to float."

Rachel shrugged "The rest of the boat makes the important parts float?"

Heidi nodded "Plus, with the gas turbines, no boilers with refractory brick lining. Probably saved twelve hundred tons per boiler right there. Between the boilers and their machinery. Turbo generators too, as the gas turbines direct drive generators. So you saved ninety six hundred tons? We can cut down on water because it's a closed loop with the condenser taking the steam turbine exhaust. Use air instead of steam for all those places that need pressurized gas, take bleed air off the compressor side of the turbines and that's probably another thousand tons. Sea water in and out for cooling the condenser. If we even need it after running the steam through the bunker heaters and using it to heat water, oh, and in the galley for steam kettles.

"We could work on the armor? I mean materials science has advanced since the thirties and forties when they were designed. Look at everything with an eye to lightening it. I bet we can take off another four or five thousand tons. Maybe more. Make the bunkerage part of the armor. Shit, we might have to build a planing hull. That much horsepower and taking all that weight off.

"Uh why do you want floating ones though? Anchor them to rock and the Endbringers won't be able to mess with them as easy as they could a ship."

Taylor beamed at her. Heidi blinked "You if anybody, still don't swing that way. Molest your girlfriends." Everybody looked at Amy. Who looked at Taylor pouting as she leapt on Rachel and the pair went down wrestling on the deck of the zeppelin. Vicky face palmed as a top flew over the side "Damnit Heidi! Look what you did!"

"What? They got the uniform on under there."

Craig Johnson sighed and shut off the camera. His reporter and sound man looked at him "Nope. Not going to jail for kiddie porn. Those three have no, erh, restraint let's call it." Amy leapt in the pile laughing "See."

The tall thin reporter nodded "Plus the community would come down on us."

"Damn Ann, was that an admission?" The sound man, Julie asked, grinning.

Ann eyed her up and down "I was taught to keep my indiscretions a hundred miles from the flagpole."

"At Wharton?"

"Cavalry ROTC."

Julie snorted "One day you will slip."

"Maybe. But not today."

"Aren't they Maneuver Officers today?" Craig asked.

Ann nodded "After my time. I did my time in First Cav, got my spurs there."

Julie looked around "So what is the hold up? Everyone said they are good to test. Natalie is going to explode if they don't shoot those guns soon."

"Politics. Someone thinks they can get something out of the deal. They put pressure on their paid for politicians. Who won't hold up under the pressure much longer."

Gun Bunny

Senator Kennedy looked at his esteemed colleague from Florida "Kansas Ed. Your state doesn't have the only powder mill in the US. Not only that, but the manufacture of gunpowder isn't that complicated. As I understand it the Tinker Bakuda came up with some novel formulations, improved on the Swedish additive. Whatever the hell that is. The Navy and Army are now looking at it, and Gun Bunny makes it by the ton after being shown it, and handling a few grains of it.

"Now, I think it's time for you to lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way. I've seen the polling data. People are starting to question why she isn't shooting Volkswagens over their heads on a daily basis. If they find out it's because of our caucus holding things up, and don't think they won't, we will be slaughtered. Our colleagues across the aisle are out of patience. When the press finds out, we will be crucified. The people of the United States favorite hobby now is hating politicians.

"Besides, Alliant might get the contract to make the powder for the military. Your state having St Marks in it could be a boon. I don't think Hodgdon is going to be able to supply all they are going to want. I saw a draft bill in the Defense committee about funding to build Alaska class cruisers. It won't pass, not as it is, but there are shipyards in Maine and Mississippi that are dying on the vine. These DWU folks in New Hampshire won't be able to do all the work even if they clean up that harbor and former naval shipyard. It wasn't that big of a shipyard. Why the Senator from New Jersey was talking to me about the New York Shipbuilding just this morning. They were a big yard, and built the original Alaska class." He judged how that barrage had gone. No need to tell him that Battery Lordsport held the patents on the powder and were already manufacturing it. Not if he didn't know.

Ed nodded "You're right. I'll tell my contacts."

The Senator from Massachusetts beamed at him. It was possible Boston was in range of those guns. And that meant safety from the Endbringers, if it worked. He had no doubt it would. Everything else the girl had done had worked so far. She had a way with making it work. And being an apparently gay teenager in a public relationship with two other girls, well, she was untouchable. Hard to tell with girls. They hadn't done anything inappropriate in public, but they were pretty close.

All that aside from them getting his niece out of that monsters little trap. The doctors were confident she would make a full recovery! Panacea had already healed her physically. Of course she would recover. She was a Kennedy!

Gun Bunny

Taylor smiled, leading her class through the turret. It had been an interesting week so far, and it was only Wednesday! Justine was in her element, controlling the image. Her and Lisa. Maybe it was just a gossipy person thing?

"Curious, not gossipy." Taylor started and put a hand over her heart. She arched a brow at Amy who smiled "You have said gossipy before. To her face even. Maybe that is better? Anyway, we need to work on your people handling."

"Mine? Don't think I don't know about death by dysentery. Which is just nasty by the way. Just give them heart attacks and move on."

Rachel shrugged "I like them shitting themselves to death."

Amanda wrinkled her nose "Always with the killing people. How can they learn if you just kill them?" Lucy nodded, grinning.

Taylor, Rachel, and Amy, looked at the pair. Vicky grinned "Yeah. You got to train them. Like Sally."

Taylor snorted "I don't have stock in Depends."

Sally walked over "Kimberly Clark. I dont either, have stock I mean. They buy generics we are making in the paper mill, chemical plant, something. So it helps us in the end." She smiled.

Heidi pinched the bridge of her nose "Hey, off break, Q and A in five."

Taylor sighed and the others gave Heidi pouts "Slave Driver. We do one of these every day. How many schools are there in this town?"

"Plenty. Taylor no rubbing your chin, Rachel no scratching your butt. Next thing you two will be checking your packages. Which you don't have as we are women! You others, no tugging at bras or skirts. Ladylike!" Justine marshalled her troops.

Sally blinked "Cameras? You didn't say there would be cameras!"

"Amy check her. There are always cameras. Plus they have cell phones." Lisa faked a concerned look while tugging at her bra and smirking as Justine glared.

Gun Bunny

"So folks remember, two short blast of the Endbringer sirens, then the guns fire. This is Natalie Morales for NBC, from Brocton Bay." Hector faded to black after Natalies live piece outro and she danced like a little girl.

Jimmy grinned "Nice! Happy makes the makeup easier. I was ready to kill that idiot from Florida. The stress was making my job hard."

Mary shook her head "Couldn't be corroborated."

"St Marks is in his district Honey. Nearly no demand for powder, Alliant is looking for money. Defense contracting is a rough game if you aren't a PRT supplier. Jose works for them."

Clive shook his head "You guys should do telenovela."

"Who do you think does it Clive?"

Hector rolled his eyes "They aren't all gay."

"MmmHmm. Now, pack this up and let's hit the Lorraine's. The girls will get up early so I need my networking time done early. They will be off at school while the State Police, PRT, and Local Leo's clear the flight path. The Army, PRT, NASA and Navy will be setting up their instruments. Then at thirteen hundred we shoot. That's a long day. And that's if they only get the clearing charge and test slug from each gun. They will be successful though so then its reduced charge, finally, full charge. They won't get to the real Projectiles, only those inert ones. The real ones will test over the ocean on Saturday. The tree huggers won that one. With an hour for measuring between." He looked up from his schedule at the rest of the team who were frozen looking at him "Chop Chop!" The others started packing up as the Central team moved into the spot they had occupied. The Mountain and Pacific teams were lined up waiting. The turret was turned at a great angle and the lights of Brockton Bay twinkled on as the sun set in the background.

Gun Bunny

Hector looked at Jimmy over a cup of coffee in the front of the network truck "Any surprises for tomorrow? I mean you went to your Network contacts room."

"And we talked business you assume?" Jimmy gave him a look. "Ok, so we talked business. As it turns out there might be a surprise. A materials scientist looked at the test results on the gun barrels and powder and thinks using the powder charge calculations from the original guns was a mistake. Something about gas production and lower friction. That's for the clearing charge slug. After that she thinks all bets are off for the reduced charge slug as the barrel will have been plated with Bakuda's anti friction compound that the powder is making."

Hector looked at the diagram again "How much more velocity?"

"Double."

Hector waved "I already got a camera on the instrument barge in the river. Remote. They won't let people on that thing as it is in the direct line."

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked at Amy and Rachel "Was school even of any use today?"

Bunny, the head Cheerleader, whose first name actually was Bunny, pouted at her "You don't love us anymore?"

Taylor sighed as Rachel glared at Bunny "Like female cousins, but aren't we at school to learn? All we covered in class today was stuff we have been over for a week. Though that one set of calculations was interesting. I'll have to talk to Sarah about that one before we fire."

Bunny beamed at them "Good. Now lunch for socialization and off to the guns you go. Justine will flay me if I let you fall behind on the schedule."

"Hiring her, well we will see. I think she is going to have a breakdown." Amy told them.

Bunny laughed "I've known her since kindergarten. You just made her dreams come true. She has always been bossy and curious. You gave her a job that needs both."

Lunch was good. The girls got some time to torture the male Wards. Or Dennis. Heidi got her dose of Chris. Vicky and Dean were being on again and Carlos was Carlos. They got to cat catch up. Hey it had been a busy week! And they had only seen Missy of the Wards for work related stuff.

They made it to the guns on schedule and after their five minutes of allotted greeting time they got down to business. The turret was cleared of people. Taylor made the clearing slug and charge and the automated system loaded the center gun, then the left and right. The guns were aimed while the video of that was reviewed and Gunther nodded "Looks good."

Taylor nodded and pushed the yellow button on the console in the temporary block house behind the turret. The Endbringer sirens spun up and down twice then Taylor pushed the red button. Three loud bangs later Taylor arched a brow. Gunther shrugged "Delay to prevent the shock waves from interfering with the rounds flight."

Heidi fell over laughing looking at one of the video monitors. "Hector is going to kill you Tay. That was his remote camera you just dropped the clearing slug on. Good thing that barge is full of foam. You over penetrated with all three."

Taylor rubbed her chin while Sherrel and Sarah looked at instrument readings and updated the model "That's why we didnt let people on the thing. It was right in line. At double the rage we expected, we own the land on this side of the river it was supposed to land in."

The live camera footage of the guns firing came on one of the monitors with Natalie's ecstatic voice over. Taylor rubbed her hands together and cackled "Now for Clive's equipment! Reduced charge should melt those microphones of his!"

Gunther chuckled "As soon as the normal eggheads catch up and say its OK."

Sarah shrugged "Dragons drones caught the whole flight. Nothing we didnt expect. All those people trying to get a look at the target areas are going to be disappointed. None of them believed the extreme calculations. This next one should really fly. Then the full charge, well lets just say its good we got Dragon on board and she is friends with Narwhal. Or, we could wait and take a crack at Simmy?"

Dragons laughing voice came over a speaker "She just lifted her orbit to forty-five thousand kilometers I think she would have time to dodge. She has adopted a novel position as well."

An image came up on a screen and Taylor snorted "Pouting? Really? Well she is the youngest."

Gunther shook his head "OK, reduced charge if you please gun captain."

"Aye Aye chief! I thought it was supposed to take like an hour though. Natalie is still talking." The machinery started moving through the steps necessary to load and Taylor wasn't doing it step by step this time. It was a flowing full speed process. The thunks of the guns loading heard outside sent the reporters scrambling back to their block houses. The voice overs got a little hysterical then settled and Gunther nodded at Taylor who pressed the yellow button, waited for the two blast from the sirens then the red. Her eyes flicked to the tracking monitor and she watched the forty-eight second flight of the rounds take them to the extremes of their predicted flight paths deep in the forest in Maine.

Sarah cackled "And that is with normal projectiles! Man, when we get to the specials! Those boat positions are way to close. They better start moving back now!"

Gunther shook his head "They haven't even left port, and aren't those things supposed to fly a pattern?"

Sarah got a gleam in her eye and turned to her computer. Taylor sighed "Double the cargo capacity and twice the part of the pattern."

Heidi snorted "Suckers bet. Tea, coffee? We have some snacks over in the other room. This one will take an hour."

Gun Bunny

Chief Joplin looked at Danny "Should have just given them the day off. They can't work for gossiping."

Danny looked at her "You and the other foremen should have."

Gun Bunny

Emily looked around the operations room "Well, it went bang again, nobody died, we still have a region to take care of people."

Gun Bunny

Legend looked at Alexandria on the top of the rig. She shook her head "Take my breath away."

Legend chuckled, then laughed, then roared. Alexandria smirked. The Sirens went off in two more short blast and Legend sobered "That wasn't an hour."

Alexandria shrugged, opened her mouth, and closed it again as the guns roared this time producing a huge muzzle flash, oddly blue colored. She spoke after looking for a moment "Every scientist who could get here is. Plus, Dragon and Armsmaster doing their instruments. I thought the readings and approvals would come quick, as long as nothing went wrong. The problems will come with the exotic projectiles. Although they are right up Squealers tinker alley."

The single long blast of the all clear sounded and the pair walked back into the rig to look at what the scientist had to say. Legend started laughing again when the first person they walked by was humming 'Take my breath away'.

Gun Bunny

The control Blockhouse was cleared of giggling girls and one hard bitten Chief. They were standing outside when the press rolled up. Natalie grinned "Truple time?"

Justine nodded nearly imperceptibly and the press in the Know explained it to those not in the Know. Justine got the press conference organized. She fed the media the scientist, Armsmaster, and Dragon first.

Taylor Amy and Rachel appeared, all smiles, toward the end. Natalie got in the salient question. "So, where from here Gun Bunny?"

Taylor grinned viciously "Now, we develop a target list and dig some holes on the weekends. Even without Bakuda's things working I bet I can make the next one regret it."


	22. Chapter 22

Gun Bunny Twenty Two

Taylor opened her eyes and looked at the frown, and fist on hips, she was getting "I had a dream. Its sitting out there in the harbor isn't it?" Amy nodded.

"Dry dock number one actually. The whole dock. Which is a thousand feet long. And two hundred feet wide. Get a little carried away?" Danny grinned.

"Well, you are awake, and didn't hurt anything. Apparently. Come on, up you get sleepy head, it's time for exercise. You know how the Gunny gets." Amy prodded Taylor, and Rachel nodded.

"Feels like I already ran a marathon. I'm starving." Taylor grumbled pawing at her stomach while digging for fresh yoga shorts and sports bra. Danny decamped. Rachel handed Taylor a roast beef sandwich. Rare roast beef, about a pound of it. She was a carnivore.

Amy wrinkled her nose and came up with a napkin. "So no morning ki- Ack! Taylor! You have cow breath!"

Of course, Sally chose that moment to walk in "So smells like grass? I always liked the way cows smell." The others, the truple, and those flowing into the room, looked at her. "What? There is a milk barn near my place. I used to run off there to freak the nannies out. Of course, once they figured out where I was going they just had tea and then picked me up after milking was done. Place that close, Lung vetted everyone, owner to lowest farm hand. Fresh milk is so good!"

Vicky walked in with Crystal "Like straight from the cow? Hey, did you guys see the big ass ship in the dry dock? Where did we get that?"

Taylor sighed "We made it. I figured out how to make a piece at a time, to the maximum of my powers, without knocking me out. Modular, I guess? Apparently while I was dreaming. So that is the ship minus turrets, barbettes, gun houses, and most of the citadel armor. Has the space for all that though and I can make it in place. Or it's the new one we have all been messing with the plans for. Are we sure about a half a million horsepower? And those variable angle stator variable angle blade pump jets will need tested in the real world. I know they modeled perfect for the hull and horsepower but cavitation is a killer. Plus that model is funny below twenty knots. Oh and the Voith Schneider propellors for low speed and directional control need tested."

"Taylor! You have to tell me these things! How am I supposed to control the message? We just got the guns shot in. People want us to freeze Nilbog and Heartbreaker! How are we on ground penetration? Now, this weekend, we are testing the service projos. That takes a week of prep right there. Have to get the message out, and then the plan in case there is a failure."

"Hey! My shit doesn't fail! Fuck! Now I got a million ideas for Nilbog! How would we get the innocents away from Heartbreaker?" Sarah glared at Justine.

"Or an unexpected phenomenon." Justine ducked and whined a bit coming in the door. "Sleep creating?" Justine tapped her chin "We will ask Miss Militia if it ever happened to her."

Lisa shrugged "She doesn't sleep. At least not much. Her power is always on. It just isn't as difficult to entertain as Taylor's."

"Hey! Why is it pick on Taylor day? Go back to picking on Sarah. My shit is done." Taylor walked into her attached bath to do a quick morning routine and change.

Heidi grinned " 'Cause you're on a boat!"

They all looked at each other and giggled at the growl this produced. Other than Rachel, who was helping Taylor growl. The bitches were too damn frisky. Some dominance was going to have to be established. She would have to give Taylor the signals. Beta bitches were the Alpha Bitches area.

Gun Bunny

Emily Piggot, and her detail, stood on the edge of the dry dock. "Fuck, my life."

Her detail NCOIC, a long service PRT Master Sergeant who could have easily been a super heavyweight MMA fighter, or inside linebacker in the NFL, chuckled "This is why they pay us the big bucks."

"And fuck you too Carol. This is all the Chief Director's fault. Sticking us with Bakuda. Things have just gotten crazier since then."

Danny Hebert walked up "Well its five o'clock somewhere. Personally I carry a hip flask." He grinned.

Carol grinned back "And have Squealer to comfort you I hear. How is that going?"

"A gentleman doesn't kiss and tell." Danny waggled his eyebrows.

Carol laughed "Fuck me, true love, you poor fool. Nice though. Moved the daughter to the Battery too. Squealer got nesty already? Better pick a ring, her clock has gone off."

Tyrone barked "Hey! Won me a hundred."

"Ahem, if we are through with the dockside banter? Danny, what exactly the fuck?" Emily reverted to her field days with the others.

"So not through then. Taylor's power did it while she was sleeping? They've been looking at the original drawings, and talking. Tinking on paper. Armsmaster and Dragon have been contributing. Apparently the plan is in a computer somehow? She broke it down into modules of ten thousand or so tons. At least from the little I gathered as they got up and got ready for PT. I left when the changing and, hmm, teen girl things, started happening." Danny shrugged.

Emily sighed "So in thirty days I am going to have a completed super Alaska class Battle Cruiser, with a main gun range of two hundred and seven nautical miles with normal projectiles, and possibly intercontinental range with Bakuda special projectiles."

"Squealer's projos, Bakuda's pay loads, propellant, and delivery method. It gets a little hard to keep it all apart with four geniuses and three tinkers."

"Four tinkers, no way Gun Bunny isn't a tinker nine after this." Emily looked at Danny "Unless, of course, she decides to power test?"

Danny laughed "I'll ask, she will say no. Natalie will come ask you pointed questions about her meal ticket. They are putting a studio with an anchor desk mock up in the second floor of the Battery. She is going to do anchor segments from here."

Carol grinned "Good for her! Nice to see a smart woman get ahead. Uh those are CAT launchers on the fantail I think? Counter torpedo homing torpedos."

"So a tour of the ship Danny? What is she going to name it?"

"Brockton Bay, probably. Cruisers were named for cities or territories. No tour yet. She is doing PT and hasn't even been on it yet. I have no idea what condition it is in. I have to find Chief Joplin and the other foremen and see what our largest dry-dock being taken over does to our schedule. At least her power waited until the dock was empty and undergoing maintenance of its own. The dock master said the maintenance was done. He is inspecting it for safety now." He waggled his cell phone.

Emily paled "What does this do to the testing schedule? Morales will have a baby buffalo on air if the next shoot is delayed."

Danny scratched his chin. Taylor had gotten the habit from him. "Her power is like a loan from a bank, she can make so many tons of stuff, then it counts down to where she could use it all again, at a phenomenal rate, hundreds of tons a day last time we checked, maybe thousands of tons now. Plus, there is no telling how much of the stockpile of metals Thing One has been producing she used. That would have reduced her tonnage requirement. Significantly if she used a lot of it and the stuff we have been recycling as we get the mill up. Thing Two is still digging in and growing. Not much from it yet. Testing should be safe. The projos only weigh five hundred or so pounds apiece, the bodies anyway, the rest is payload. Avionics and actuators, but that is minimal. They aren't super heavy AP."

"I think I am going to have to insist on an evaluation of her methods and Battery Lordsport's inventory. Being as she is a national strategic asset." Colonel Lindstrom, General Sanchez and General Stanley looked at each other for a moment after that comment form the director of the PRT ENE. General Stanley cleared his throat. "Pending our allies approval." Emily growled.

General Stanley nodded and smiled tightly "I'm sure our liaisons, and respective State Departments and Ministries, can work something out. Consideration has to be given for Battery Lordsport's home country, where its sovereign ground is located, after all."

Carol whistled through her teeth and looked at her opposite numbers. Two master Sergeants, or the equivalent, and a sergeant first class in Colonel Lindstrom's case, though a female. "Going to play rough then."

Fanjunkare Lindt, no relation to the chocolatier, Elsbeth, grinned "Ja!"

General Stanley chuckled "No, just establishing good relations, correct Director? A good foundation and clear understanding to prevent much trouble later."

Emily nodded "Plus this town is crawling with spies and informants."

"Well it is the center of the universe for now. Attention will focus somewhere else eventually." Danny shrugged.

Emily swiveled to him "After you have hired everyone who isn't in the PRT or Protectorate."

"Currently. We do have quite a few retiree's, at least from the PRT." Danny grinned back. "Breakfast? Lorraine has a diner kind of place for the tradesmen. The DWU gets a discount."

Elsa Lindstrom nodded "And we can expense it. Expense is the word yes?"

Emily caved "Yes that is the word."

Gun Bunny

Lisa laughed as the girls got on the zeppelin for the ride to the Battery, Taylor had sent the night at home "You pitched a match in a puddle of gasoline Taylor. People don't know whether to demand a turret or a ship. Half the towns in the free world are digging holes to spec or are making lakes big enough to fit an Alaska class. Some of them are doing both."

"There is a spec on the holes? Thirty five feet of depth for the propulsors for low speed." Taylor frowned.

Amanda snorted "Since the video of you guys digging the first one came out. At least for the turret holes. It isn't that hard to get measurements off video. Measurements at least good enough. Especially as the trees in the video have been measured and their measurements posted online. Someone will have video of the ship up by the time we are done with breakfast."

Lucy nodded "Huge fight about what constitutes 'good' rock for the foundation. Two universities, in the northwest, eight miles apart, but in two different states, have a fight going over who's basalt is stronger. They have their engineering, geology, and physics departments, going at it tooth and claw. Some interesting science coming out of that. Some other universities are getting in on it. One, in Scotland, Glasgow has a close-grained granite extrusion island near them they are extolling the virtues of. Apparently it is where all the curling stones come from. Well besides the ones that come from some place in Wales. Goofy sport, but it looks fun."

Taylor smiled "I always wanted to go to Scotland. They have always been friendly with the French."

Amy broke in "So, Fanjunkare Lindt. I need to get a hand on her. Rachel might have a relative!"

Lisa frowned then grabbed her head "Damn. Yeah, she might." Rachel blinked. Then got tackled by Taylor and Amy.

Gun Bunny

Elsa laughed as the head of her detail was swarmed and dragged away. General Sanchez arched a brow. "I wondered how long it would take. They are even the same somatotype." She shrugged.

General Sanchez frowned then smiled "Ah, related perhaps. A happy day for both our countries."

"All three, no four, actually." General Stanley smiled. He looked at Admiral Hoel.

"Kids. It is making the retirement interesting." Admiral Hoel shrugged.

Colonel Lindstrom grinned "So your fifth star? I mean you have been recalled to active duty."

Admiral Hoel shrugged "Pay is the same. It's capped by law. Its apparently in the works. The President didn't know about that policy when he recalled me. Nice it comes with a four star chief of staff and a bunch of three, two and one stars. Captains out the wazoo. Some Master Chiefs too though, so they should be straight. Some of those Captains can make coffee for the rest. I can dump most of the work on all of them. The boss wants me watching Battery Lordsport. And you people of course."

General Sanchez nodded "Hence the four, now five, star billet. Power play."

Admiral Hoel nodded "An undersecretary of State as well. She will be in later."

Elsa nodded once "Gut, erh, good. The Soviets, ah, Russians are sending a Marshal I heard. They have a citizen here with a building, or had one, some mobster. He left town. They took the building. Hero of the Soviet Union, sniper. Marshal they brought out of retirement and promoted. Then they got their healers to work on her."

Hoel snorted "He left in a body bag my sources say. He tried Gun Bunny in a max effort. She hardly noticed. Thought he was Empire."

General Stanley nodded "In that first month of heavy fighting."

Admiral Hoel nodded "Chief Yarrow said it got pretty bad. He, apparently, spent most of it out on his boat."

Colonel Lindstrom nodded "I notice a lot of the Chiefs are Alaska, Guam, and Hawaii plank holders. With CB 4 on the ways we will lose them from the testing program?"

Admiral Hoel shook his head "Their part is over, other than inspections, they have already set up the training and gotten instructors. The turret can steam, lit its turbines, is electrically safe, hooked to the grid, and the guns are certified. Now it's all egg heads and tracking projectiles."

General Sanchez nodded "And waiting for the Leviathan." All four looked at each other, wondering what country was going to add a liaison to the pool next.

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at Armsmaster. "Brockton Bay is on this list."

Armsmaster nodded "As were most seaside communities. It is Leviathan. The model takes into account everything since each Endbringers last attack. So for Leviathan, everything since June twenty ten, when he attacked the Azores."

Emily nodded "For no discernable reason. And he just cleared the people from Pico and squatted on the highest peak for a day. Letting anyone who wanted take shots at him. None of which did anything."

"Yes, it is not a precise science. However Gun Bunny appeared since that time and Brockton Bay was a fairly intense area before that. To say nothing of the entire East North East region." Armsmaster nodded.

Dragon spoke up over her VTC link. "I personally think the chances of him attacking Brockton Bay skyrocketed with Gun Bunny's appearance and defeat, or at least stalemating, of both Behemoth and the Simurgh. Her behavior at Canberra was focused utterly on Gun Bunny. Almost as if she was playing. Only the distraction of the Lazy Dog let her be injured worse than she ever has before. She keeps Brocton Bay in line of site, and has recovered while in orbit."

"So you assume he is going to come test himself? Or is looking for a worthy opponent?"

"I disagree, Russia, or the Ukraine, better fit the previous data sets, St Petersburg or the Black Sea ports." Armsmaster stated emphatically.

Emily drummed her fingers. "I think Dragon is right. The Endbringers behavior since Brazil is out of the norm, what there is of a norm for them. He is coming here, to face Gun Bunny. Probably in ten days. That is what I am going to advise the Chief Director."

Gun Bunny

Amy looked at the Secret Service liaison "What? Substantial risk to national security assets?" She rolled her eyes "Taylor!"

"Yeah Amy, I heard. Well, if the fucker is going to come to me, saves me a trip really. I'll tell Gunny. Might have to ramp up on my ship."

"Rachel! Bring Taylor a cow."

Sarah nodded "Taylor I am going to need you to make ten copies of all the body designs in each material today. We can get them through x-ray and into avionics, finish that tonight. Load and pack them tomorrow, then shoot on Friday, after testing of the finished articles."

Lisa was already on her phone "I'll call Admiral Hoel, he will get his folks on clearing the test range. You eat and make shells Tay. Then finish up your boat. At least enough to drive. We will need it out of here in case the things don't work."

"Goddamnit! My shit works, goes where I want, and does what I say it will!" Sarah actually stomped her foot.

Sherrel nodded "Mine too, but I see the point. Plus we need a fall back safe position for you and your dad, all of us too, Taylor. I'll get some transporter pads warming up. I got a nice little place in mind, clear mountain lake. Couple of nice cabins. Fire places, bear skin rugs." She waggled her eyebrows.

Taylor looked at Amy who snorted "I am only making you forget one way, and it involves a fire and a bearskin rug."

Rachel frowned "Fleas."

"And the mood is gone." Amy gave her a glare then a hug. "I'm sure they treated them sweetie. I'll check though."

"Before we go for the truples retreat, who is going to drive the boat?" Vicky asked.

Lisa was already texting "Got it. Think we need all fifteen hundred or could we take that many as evacuees?"

"Worst case maybe. I will put pads in the schools, hospitals and Endbringer shelter locations. More if we have time. Where should I send those people though?" Sherrel asked.

"Working on it. Uh, Amy? I am going to have the worst head-" Lisa started. Amy grabbed her arm. "OK, so going to be in arms reach of you for ten days then." She got a look "Or not. Truple time, you can just knock me out for that." Amy gained a thoughtful expression. Lisa paled. "Do not make me a MMA fighter body! Wait, on second thought, go ahead. Gunny won't be able to hurt me anymore." Taylor and Rachel, both with MMA champion bodies, broke up laughing.

The Secret Service AIC snorted and walked off shaking his head. Natalie button holed him "Not so fast Agent J. You and your black suit have some splaining to do. You do make those glasses and that suit look good though. Did they give you a neutralizer yet? K out of retirement permanently? How is that daughter of his?"

AIC Johnson sighed "Ha ha, very funny. I'm sure our public affairs office would be happy to explain it to you. He turned around into nine cameras and eleven microphones stuck in his face. He had never been so glad of sunglasses in his life. He was getting a shade darker from the lights.


	23. Chapter 23

Gun Bunny Twenty Three

Amy adjusted Taylor again. Huffing a bit. Taylor nodded and tossed a beef rib, which looked like something out of a cartoon, to Brutus. Angelica wasn't sharing. At all. Rachel frowned. "Taylor! Stop eating them like they are popsicles. I was kidding about the cow too. How did you get that cooked anyway?"

"Don't just toss them to them, make them do something for the reward." Rachel ordered.

"Hector got with some guys he knows, they put a whole cow on a spit early this morning. Down at the dry dock. It got done at lunch. Apparently, that's really a thing they do, not just in John Wayne movies. They even got mesquite was it? Yeah mesquite wood. It's great! Here." Taylor held out a barely done giant steer rib to Amy who wrinkled her nose and backed up.

"Oh, my, god. The calories!" Amy grabbed her arm "Well you won't get fat at the rate you are burning them. Which I don't see how it's possible even. How are you not sweating? You are actually hot!"

Taylor shrugged and downed another quart of Gatorade. Lucy was handing them to her regularly. "No idea."

Rachel nodded looking at Taylor. It would have been embarrassing but Taylor knew it was the way she was. Demonstrating care in her own way. "Starch."

Amanda frowned thoughtfully "Maybe. Let me get some potatoes nuked."

"Butter, sour cream, green onions, a little cheese, oh, bacon!" Taylor got her order out between bites.

Susan walked up with a drawing "Hey do this in Taylorite. That last collapsium alloy you did. That shit is amazing, Armsmaster had an orgasm or something, went so deep in techno babble even I couldn't follow it all. I think you got his tinker rocks off."

Taylor looked at the drawing "This is five inch" She dug in a pile of drawings "These ones are forty millimeter? And twenty-five mike mike? What do you want the driving bands to be? Copper?"

Susan nodded "Yeah, you put those two gun, five fifty four turrets on the boat instead of five thirty eights. Twelve tubes in two gun mounts. One super firing over the main battery fore and aft and two on each side. Fourteen quad forty Bofors, L70's though, and thirty-four twenty-five-millimeter chain guns. Plus four of those up gunned, small domed, Phalanx mounts, one on each side and one fore and aft. Do we count barrels or systems? Gunny is waxing lyrical. So are the rest of the old guys. I got some proximity fuzes ready to go, we can test them too. You can knock out magazines full of cartridges on test day for the little guns and fill the powder magazines of the five inch with powder charges. Same propellant, different form factor. Well, for the five inch. Grain size gets bigger too. I'll get you the specs. The twenty-five millimeter you already got specs for. The projos are the same weight as the collapsed TNB penetrators.

"Did you do the hull plating and frames out of that collapsed alloy on purpose or is that your go to metal? Shit is stronger than HY 100. Probably about HY 350. You could back off on the thickness." She blinked at the growl from Taylor. "Or not. Nobody sinks your boat. Got it. You know, with that metal foam in all the bunkerage and tankage I'm not sure it would sink anyway, maybe get really wet? Like one of those drug submarines"

Taylor nodded and Rachel handed her a sandwich dripping grease and with the bread stained red. She took the rib Taylor was finished with and made one of her dogs sit for it. Glaring at an unapologetic Angelica the whole time. Alpha Bitches, what could you do? "Its to keep thousands of tons of liquids from sloshing around at the speeds we are looking at. Plus it lends rigidity. Makes the tankage and bunkerage a real part of the armor, not just an energy sink. Its only eight or nine tones as well." Taylor asked "Crew list?"

Natalie walked up "Six hundred and seven to man all stations when you aren't running it all Tay, erh, Gun Bunny."

Lisa scowled "I knew this imbedding thing was a bad idea."

"Good researcher. She figured it out. Not that deeply buried. Nobody else, well not the casual snoopers, will figure it out. Plus, now Dragon and the NSA are covering your data. You being a national asset and all. Anyway, Admiral Hoel got some folks working on the crew thing. They came up with the crew requirements. All that automation you put in reduced it to a third of the normal crew. A lot of those systems can't be repaired on board which cut down on the specialist and their shops, machine, electronic, like that.

"If you can do sixteen-inch naval rifles you, Squealer, and Bakuda may have brought back the big gun battle ship. There are retired guys coming out of the wood work."

Amy snorted "Who take so much work they compete with Gun Bunny eating for a round." She took her hand off the latest patient who grinned at her. The nurse rolled her eyes and the patient away. They had a system like Canberra going except with Taylor sitting, eating, and making stuff instead of flying around singing princess songs, endearingly badly.

Someone handed her a plan, she read it, looked at it a while, then made whatever it was on a pallet. A forklift picked the thing or things up and put it on a truck. Sometimes it was a giant forklift with lift capacities into the hundreds of tons.

Amanda looked at Taylor and added a ground up multi vitamin to her Gatorade. Taylor nodded to her "So I can put on ten more tons of ammo or fuel? If we aren't going to have the people I mean."

Lisa chuckled "Let's get her floating on her own hull first and check displacement and metacentric height. It should be good, it is on paper, but we don't want a Tomozuru or IJN fourth fleet problem. Your alloy is stronger and lighter than planned. Might have to add some armor in the belt below the waterline. Squealer needs to see her floating."

"Finished and floating. I'm not worried Tay, you got it all right. Hoel had his boys and the Naval academy looking at the plans. They did the calculations. With those hold downs on the turrets and the ballast system they think we could even pump her up to full theoretical speed. Not sure I want to be on her with her doing two hundred and four miles an hour. I like fast but there is fast, and then there is crazy." Squealer walked up.

Taylor looked between Sherrel and her father who had walked up with her and smiled, chuckled and then burst out laughing. The others grinned and chuckled. Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. Sherrel actually blushed as she chuckled too. She went down in a pile. Hector looked at Danny "Nice Heffe."

Jimmy nodded "Its darling! So you get her pregnant yet?"

Clive actually paled "Man! You can't say shit like that!"

Danny started laughing. After a moment he shrugged "No idea. We talked about it. As in I warned her I wasn't fixed. She hasn't said or asked for anything."

"Buy a ring Heffe. You are done. Gun Bunny gets along with her too? Man, you are so done."

Clive nodded "Well too. Not like that steer Hectors people did. Nothing rare to medium about it."

Jimmy looked at Danny holding his hands up framing him "We can make this work. Full formal I think. Tuxedo. You got that classic Shape now. Panpan has been busy hasn't she?"

"Plus a lot of us started exercising. Gunny Hausen insisted. Shit was way to tense around here not to listen to him. Then it got to be a habit and I had Taylor to think about. Somebody might do something stupid. Didn't need her hurt because of me." Danny nodded.

"Heard. Empire didn't give you guys much trouble though. Yall been holding the line. Merchants too high to get it probably. Probably thought the Empire just didn't want the docks enough." Clive agreed.

"Then they tried Taylor and it went horribly wrong for them. It would have anyway once we, the other DWU members and I found out. We have had to get a few of the kids back and in treatment. That usually backs the Merchants off for six months or a year."

Hector nodded "Finding your shooting partner hung from a lamppost like Mussolini will do that Heffe. You guys play rough."

"She is wide in the middle! And to long." Taylor blinked at Chief Yarrow and covered her breast with her hands. Rachel growled.

Amy sighed. "Taylor stop that, there is an idiot with a camera somewhere. Gun's, rephrase and watch your words. I know that while you were looking at Taylor you weren't talking about her." She barked.

Gunther blinked and Taylor snatched her hands down. Rachel stood up. Taylor got a hand on her "Wait! I think I know what this is about. Yes Brockton Bay is ten feet wider in the beam and twenty five feet longer. With the installed horsepower and the more efficient propellers, or rather prop jets, the Navy's hull calculations said she had to be Chief."

Chief Joplin walked up grinning. "Shit, ruin my fun. I wanted to see Bitch kick his ass, or sic a dog on him. I told you you old curmudgeon. Now shut up about it. She looks just like an Alaska class. You old bastards had to get a tape measure out to figure it out."

Gunther looked at the growing dogs and meekly said "Paint."

Taylor frowned. "Uh, late war Pacific measure twelve? What she wore in the war? It's not paint either. The metal actually reflects the light that color. Paint won't stick. With the metal collapsed like it is it doesn't rust though. No place for the air to get in. The non-skid is actually in the metal. Jagged little structures."

Gunther deflated some more as the dogs stopped growing "Teak."

Taylor smiled and hugged him. "Is as close to real, first cut, virgin forest, teak as I could make with the sample I got. Collapsed though. Freaking bullet proof to twenty five mike mike though. I don't think it will burn either. No air in there. Well, not in a regular fire."

"Sorry."

Chief Joplin looked at Gunther in surprise and fell over in a dead feint. Danny nodded "Yep, a bit surprising, maybe novel. Corpsman?"

He looked at Amy who huffed and walked over to Janis. "Fucking people, I swear to god! We are done working for today. Come on Rachel, Taylor." She bent down, grabbed Janis's arm for a moment then walked off. The girls trundled along behind her. All of them.

Danny looked at Gunther "Well, we'll give them an hour or two to relax."

"Sorry."

"Fuck they broke him." Janis said sitting up.

"Attention om Deck!" The Master Chief Petty Officers voice brought the Navy people to rigid attention. The others froze as well.

Admiral Hoel stepped out of the van the Chief had just gotten out of. "Chief Yarrow, A moment of your time?"

When the pair had walked off around a corner Janis did a full body shudder. "I told the idiots."

The Master Chief, standing between the crowd and where the Admiral had gone tilted his head and growled "And which idiots, precisely did you tell Chief?"

"Fuck me!"

Danny walked off after Sherrel who had gone with Taylor and Amy.

Natalie looked at Mary who shook her head slightly.

Gun Bunny

"What? Oh, only for a minute. People, well girls, used to tease me about being flat chested. When Gunther started talking about wide and long, well, it went right there for some reason. I think my butt is too big now. I've always been tall but this is a bit extreme. Six, two."

Sally shook her head "I'll put him in diapers later. Meanwhile you are not that girl anymore. None of us are those girls anymore. I used to get teased about being short. It's not a problem anymore."

Vicky, of all people, nodded "Haters gonna hate. First I was 'gawky' then a 'cow'. Fuck them. We are hot as fuck now and they wish." Everyone looked at her. "What?"

Amy, sitting in Taylors lap lay her head on her chest "Perfect size."

Rachel nodded "Best of us I think. I'm a little big, Amy's fit her. Yours are perfect. I like tall and dat ass." She grinned and the other girls froze. That grin lit up the room. Then they blushed and looked elsewhere feeling like they shouldn't have seen that, like it was something intensely private to the Truple.

Taylor smiled and hugged Amy's head and shoulder bumped Rachel. "I like both of yours better. Grass is always greener. I do have a question though. Even out of the sports bra I got no erh, well uh."

Amy flailed her way free leaned in and kissed Taylor "Coopers ligaments. I have tuned everything and those work for other stuff than just holding boobs up. Armor for one."

Sally nodded "Thought so. Now come on, dance studio, time to relax."

Taylor groaned "Pole dancing isn't relaxing. Besides, Heidi didn't bring Chris."

Missy charged in the door "We're here now!"

Heidi looked at the Wards and cackled. Carlos tried to back up. Missy collapsed the space. Dennis groaned "I'm going swimming aren't I?"

Dean rolled his eyes "Director Piggot sent us?"

Amy nodded "Told you. Cameras."

Gun Bunny

The meeting in the Goat Locker, a private room in one of the bars at the Lorraine's, as Squealer and the Lady Merchants entertainment complex had come to be known was much less civilized than a five star ass chewing. The Chiefs got the message loud and clear. Gun Bunny was to be treated as an officer and a gentlewoman no matter how she acted. The next time they forgot would affect their pensions, not in a good way. CSN Brockton Bay was not an Alaska Class, Even though she carried hull number one. She was the name ship of her own class and they had better damn well get on board.

Chief Gunther frowned "CSN?"

"City State Navy. It's what the State Departments have decided."

Chief Joplin raised her hand "Uh, they do realize-"

"No, they are idiots. We will make it happen however."

Elspeth stood up when the Master chief sat "The next person who speaks without carefully considering their words around my cousins' friends will need to speak with me. In the sparring pits." She had already gained a reputation as a dirty fighter among the males. The females weren't talking but there had been a rash of what was being called 'cunt punching' amongst the female lower enlisted after she started open training sessions.

Gunther stood up "For all you old timers, it isn't the Navy we were in. Women go to sea now, serve in ground combat, all positions. I have apologized and will again. I wasn't thinking of Gun Bunny as a young woman. That might have been a mistake. Women are different, have different experiences and take things different ways sometimes. They are not less capable. Something for all of us old black shoe folks to learn. It won't hurt us to learn new ways."

Gunny Hausen nodded "Doesn't mean you can't be assholes still, you just have to learn new words and ways of being assholes. I got some DI buddies, female, we will see if they can train you all."

The Master chief nodded "Excellent idea. I'll talk to the Admiral. Now I believe we have a new crop of petty officer three and corporals who have business with the Bar ma, erh, person." He to the chuckle he was anticipating along with groans from PO3's and Corporals as they went to get a round for house to wet down their stripes. Up to PO2 or Sergeant they could club up together to pay and Lorraine's gave them and the PO2 Sergeants a deep discount.

The Goat Locker was the kind of place privates and seamen could go in, but just weren't comfortable with. The junior noncommissioned officers didn't hang out there much. To many Senior people and their significant others watching you know? Lorraine ran another room or club for them and then two for the officers as well. The Senior Ward room was pretty small. Very nice though.

Gun Bunny

Danny blinked at the hugs and cheek kisses he got as the girls came through the kitchen side of Taylors apartment and then went to the showers. Sherrel stopped "Need help?"

"Nah, Hectors people sent some steer. I just knocked out sides."

"Corn bread? Oh fuck Danny this is great! How did you learn this you Yankee bastard? Now I have to marry you." Sherrel stuff the rest of the piece of cornbread she had filched in her mouth.

"Well, you might anyway."

"Are you pregnant?"

Danny broke up laughing "Sorry couldn't do the role reversal anymore."

"Such a cute apron too. Seriously though. We can or not, I'm not going anywhere."

Danny grinned and folded her in a hug "And if you do get pregnant?"

Sherrel grinned impishly "I figure a wedding, with me in white, at thirty seven weeks should distract from T and the girls."

Danny laughed "And strain everyone's new found civility to the breaking point. Jimmy is already planning."

"Honey he is already planning Amy, Taylor, and Rachels wedding and has the community laying the ground work. As well as doing the legal work."

Danny shook his head "Everybody needs to slow down on that."

Sherrel shrugged "They are happy. We'll shoot anyone who fucks it up. It's all good."

Danny smiled "And the girls are OK?"

"Amy is the only one who got mad, really mad. Even she realized Gunther and Taylor were thinking to separate things pretty quickly. We might need to disappear the Barnes for a while. Amy might do something rash. Of course, she might any time, but when she gets these reminders of Taylors and Rachels past she gets a bit what the Brits call 'bloody minded' I think."

"Fuckers have disappeared, Allan and that girl. Plus, the PRT disappeared as you called it, Shadow Stalker. I need to ask Emily about that as a matter of fact."

Sherrel snuggled into the hug he had her in and quit stealing bits and pieces from platters "Part of the deal remember. We get lots of money, and 'considerations' on our people."

"They are moving the Endbringer resources here."

"Fuck. Lung. Sally will electrocute the whole town."

"I heard Shadow Stalker has volunteered for 'considerations'"

"Jesus Christ, Fucking PRT." Sherrel sighed, snuggled a minute more. Leaned back, kissed Danny hard and rubbed her belly on him before winking and scampering away to the shower. Just as Taylor came in the kitchen area. If he didn't know better he would think she planned it.

Taylor arched a brow "Women huh?" Danny broke up laughing. Taylor grinned. "Nice though. Good job." Danny just shook his head.


	24. Chapter 24

Gun Bunny Twenty Four

Emily arched a brow, Jessica Yamada shrugged "Still girls? Chief Yarrow, all the Chiefs will be on their best behavior now. So the others will be. The Navy actually has a program. Started it when they started putting female sailors on ships and getting female pilots, a couple of scandals and bam, program. Typical Military it has had reviews and improvements over the years. It might not be where it should be, but it is miles better than the civilian world and they are damn serious about it.

The Admiral was not best pleased. The DWU doesn't have the problem as the women in it weren't exactly wall flowers. Plus, the men all think they are John Wayne or something. They do pay equal money for equal work though. Doesn't help over a career if you have babies, what are they going to do though? I mean to give six months or so maternity leave every time you got pregnant, wouldn't they need to reduce your pay over all and bank it? From reports Gun Bunny reacted that way because of pre-trigger events. Some girls are just bitches. We all had to deal, hell, I still do.

"More interesting, at least to me, was the non-reaction and level of control they all demonstrated. Panacea, then Gun Bunny, and the restraint Bitch demonstrated. I think a few months ago her dogs would be having sea biscuits. With lots of ventilation holes.

"Now when do we get to see the ship?"

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose "Why is it that everyone only cares about the damn ship. It isn't a cruise liner. It has coffin racks for the crew for goodness sake. Tiny little rooms for Chiefs and above. No provision for passengers other than hooks and chains, they are going to put stretchers up if they need spaces for passengers."

"That's a good Idea!"

Emily glared at Dragon's image for a moment. "Fine. The turret is scheduled to test the payload rounds this weekend. CSN Brockton Bay will continue fitting out as her battle group arrives. She will sortie for full trials next weekend. Between now and then she may move around, dry dock to fitting out, that sort of thing. The DWU and the old salts are putting up a exhibit and Gangway where she is going to dock and will be doing tours for a dollar donation. They don't mind if you give more but they suggest a dollar.

"I wonder what they want the coins for?"

Assault blinked "Uh CSN, really? And battle group?"

Emily nodded "Yes, Brazil is sending a carrier group, Australia two cruisers and their escorts, Sweden is supplying attack submarines. Mostly older ships but a couple of newer ones. Gun Bunny will have command and her flag will be flown in Brockton Bay."

Battery whistled through her teeth. "Those Swedish boats give our nuke boats nightmares. Quieter than quiet. As for her flying her flag, I bet that is going to be one crowded command CIC. I don't envy her."

Emily chuckled "Some of the names of people who are being brought out of retirement to run her CIC and be her staff is impressive. I don't envy her either. Though Admiral Hoel will most likely have a firm grip on them."

Armsmaster nodded "Four Fletcher class, a Gearing class, destroyers. A South Dakota Class battleship, several submarines, and PT boats, are on the way as well. If it is in a museum, or the hands of the national Park Service, it is on the way. There is a shortage of tugs and or ocean going transports for ships it seems. Some of them are not seaworthy, they need floating dry docks and tows. The organizations that own them hope to have them restored by Gun Bunny. If the price is them joining the CSN the groups are apparently willing to crew them. The USS New Jersey is being discussed as joining the CSN. As are her sister ships other than Missouri. The Navy wants Gun Bunny to spend some time in Hawaii. There is also a discussion of getting her to look at the USS Constitution."

One of the operations officers groaned "She will do it too. That's every ship in Battleship cove by the way. Except that East German boat."

Miss Militia chuckled. "To get a look at the guns if nothing else."

Emily nodded "Next item, Friday night the Truple are going to the movies. I want the local theaters checked today and tomorrow. If we found out, someone else will have found out. All we don't need is Gun Bunny executing someone, Or Bitch, erh, Hellhound having someone eaten, on one of the tabloid shows, that one from California is apparently recruiting here, TMI? No TMZ. Friday morning we will review the contingency plans for covering the date, and conduct a sand table exercise on the rig."

Velocity sighed "Teenagers and National Assets. How much can life suck?"

Cpt. Torres shrugged "Not very much when you don't really care, other than getting people not to hum or sing 'Take my Breath Away' every time they see you and your girlfriends together. Since Gun Bunny went non-lethal nobody wants the pain. She manifest that M2 and empties that Xrail in seconds."

Everyone looked at Miss Militia who shrugged and cradled her M2 "Fun rig. Gun Bunny does the pistol grip." She sighed "I'm just old school I guess. I like the regular."

Triumph laughed "With the Xrail though." He got a grin from her that made his heart flutter for a second. Rime would kill him. Battery gave him a knowing grin. He face palmed.

Gun Bunny

Marquis looked at Glastig Uaine "Majesty, I fail to follow your thoughts?"

Glastig Uaine blinked. The other cell block leaders drew back. "I was perfectly clear? I wish to visit Queen Shaper and Queen Administrator. I require an escort. All that remains is to pick the appropriate time."

Lustrum shook her head "Not to gainsay you at all your Majesty, but perhaps visiting a young woman who has fought two Endbringers to a standstill and is apparently going to go hunt the last, in his own element, requires some preparation."

Black Kaze smiled, it was disconcerting "Surprise! Blam, blam blam, dead. This is not much of a life, but it is a life."

Glastig nodded "Of course, one does not drop in unannounced on a Queen, much less two. Lustrum, one of your followers was Queen Administrator's Mother. Marquis, Queen Shaper is your daughter. You will be fine emissaries."

String Theory of all people shook her head "Perhaps after they have their discussions with Leviathan."

"Of course, we must plan. There is no hurry, the water demon is of little consequence, but my fellow queens are distracted enough with the bloom of new love. His antics are not helping. Though I do wish to see what song the multitudes sing as a hymn of praise this time."

Marquis grinned "And Kaiser will never expect to see me."

Galvanate perked up. "A gentleman doesn't travel alone. Brockton Bay is close to Boston. The Butcher is there, or the Teeth at least." Black Kaze, Ingenue, and String Theory were suddenly interested. Glastig pinched the bridge of her nose.

Gun Bunny

"OK, open the gate!"

Captain Katherine Graham sighed "Traditionally, tugs moved ships out of dry docks. Especially for a trip to the graving dock."

Taylor waved her off "So confusing, isn't she in a dry dock? Wikipedia says a graving dock is a dry dock. Well flooded now. Why does the Navy call a fitting out dock a graving dock? I got this. Not sure anything would happen even if I bumped the sides a bit. I'll be careful, don't want to hurt my dock."

Amy nodded "You better be, we have a date. I don't want you agonizing over scraping your toy's paint or breaking your giant bathtub. Quick spin and then back. We have to get changed."

"It's not-"

"Hush, drive." The gates of the dry dock opened and Taylor added some power. She eased out of dry-dock to thunderous cheers. The all-volunteer crew of mostly ex-Navy people and the inspectors smiled and waved to the crowds from the deck. The news helicopters hovered like dragonflies looking for a water bug. Danny handed Katherine a cup of coffee. She nodded in thanks. It was noon on Friday. The constant booming of the turret firing over their heads into the test area had been going on all morning. Everyone got over ducking.

The sabots evaporating in colored clouds like daytime fireworks were still drawing fascinated crowds, and cameras, though.

Taylor looked at the Lieutenant Commander doing navigation with a crew of officers and sailors "Let me know when I am deep enough to open it up George, let's give them a show."

Rachel smiled, a new development that stopped people in their tracks. "Wet em down."

Taylor grinned at her "If it does like the models."

Amy shook her head "You two are going to drown somebody downtown." She had seen the rooster tails from the models. They went hundreds of feet. Well scale feet. Taylor built a perfect working scale model whose guns were 7.62 bag guns. All fully automated, and both remote controlled, and controlled by her. The Navy had taken it off to a covered dry dock for 'tank testing'.

Chief Joplin's voice came over the intercom "You have steam Captain. Full power available."

"Muhahahahaha!"

"Taylor!"

"Ah dad! Fine. Everybody hang on." Taylor brought the power up and Brockton Bay squatted at the stern as a gigantic rooster tail sprayed out. It was aimed into the Bay however as she steered for the outer markers. She cleared the harbor doing sixty knots. To the loud protest of the Harbor master on the radio. Taylor skidded across the bay and out the seaway. Danny admired Katherine's glacial calm standing beside the semi reclined pilots' seat as Taylor worked two joysticks and pedals under both feet. The person in the seat could control every function on the ship. Taylor could do it from her room in the battery if she wanted to.

Squealer whooped and dashed out onto a wing of the bridge where she did the flying arms thing, nearly lifting off. She rushed back inside grinning.

Soon enough Katherine was talking Taylor through the test program and they eventually made it up to the full power sprint on the way back to port as Admiral Hoel looked at the test results coming in to the CIC buried deep in the citadel. "Exceeds Expectations I think is the only thing that applies here."

His four star chief of staff laughed "Yes sir. A hundred knots. I never thought she would drive it that hard."

The Master Chief shrugged "Teenager, go faster is what they do. Let her get it worked in and she will go faster. She has more throttle left and we are still carrying the hotel load."

Chief Yarrow smiled "That rooster tail would sink a Ford class five miles behinds us though." He was looking at the astern monitor.

The Chief of Staff typed as he spoke "Surfeit of installed power." He got a chuckle from the group.

Admiral Hoel let it go for a minute then asked "And the weapons test?"

A three star handed him a report "Another exceeds expectations I think sir, The shells really do do what Squealer said they would and Bakuda's payloads have frozen an area the size of metropolitan New York five hundred miles out in the test range, all the way to the sea floor, extending to low orbit. I think we will have to wait on the results, but I would bet it is to bedrock as advertised. The sabots atomizing is thrilling the civilians. Well, after the initial panic. That they turn into plant food is going to be interesting for the grounds maintenance companies in the bay area."

Admiral Hoel smiled "Gun Bunny owns that ground. I expect that is just another one of the plans they have. Now to see if our friend will come. Then he can stay in his new aquarium for a few thousand years."

The group looked around as they felt the deck shift. The turned to the monitors displaying the bridge as Amy took over the wheel, or joysticks, and made Taylor show her how to back off on the throttle. Admiral Hoel looked at the navigational displays. "In the Bay."

Chief Yarrow nodded "Now we see how they are at parking."

As it turned out 'they' were great, first Amy, then Taylor, then Rachel. Bow thrusters helped a lot. The other girls were pouting over not getting a turn to 'drive'. The Navy people were busy cringing about that when the Zeppelin left its 'hanger', astern of turret three. A sort of rack it locked into. It was full of happy laughing girls and dogs. Katherine looked around, sighed and gave the orders to secure the ship. It was station keeping exactly where it had last been put by Rachel. Exactly in the spot planned for it with the gap in the rail lined up with the gangway. And the crane handling steam, water, and power lines perfectly aligned for connection. No dock lines or fenders.

CSN Brockton Bay was selling electricity, steam, and fresh water to the grids.

Gun Bunny

Purity looked at her partners for the patrol "And if I had a date?"

Miss Militia smiled at her "On your night off fine, do you?"

"Phhttt! Squealer took the best single parent in the area."

"I know right, that is so unfair, we never had a chance."

Battery rolled her eyes "You never tried, either of you. So, we are gossiping about local single VIPs to maintain our cover then."

Miss Militia grinned "And the PRT is buying some very good French food. I wonder where the girls got the idea for this place?"

Purity laughed "They think they are exclusive, so its reservation only. The Maître De is a vicious bastard, and is not afraid to call in some heat. Even parahumans follow the rules here. So, the reporters, aside from Natalie? How did that happen? Any way they can't get in if they are working, and no cameras."

Battery shook her head "Because nobody looks good eating?" They all looked at the Truples table. "Well, almost nobody? Is it my imagination or is Gun Bunny getting better every day, Panacea and Bitch too. Bitch smiling is, stunning I guess is the word."

Miss Militia leaned forward "She only does it when Gun Bunny or Panacea are around." All three giggled.

Amy looked at the giggling trio and rolled her eyes. What do they think wee are going to do, start making out right here?" She squawked when Rachel grabbed her head and kissed her. Taylor laughed.

"Rachel! Public! Nice though." She kissed her back. Taylor leaned over and joined in. The waitress cleared her throat. The three sat back smiling.

Rachel shrugged and spoke between spoons of soup "We do what we want. We aren't hurting anyone."

Taylor nodded "Lately, haven't really had to."

"Which is good. We get time to do the plan." Amy chimed in.

"Which plan? Ours, Dads, Lorraines, the Lady Merchants executive boards'?" Taylor asked.

"I like Lorraines." Rachel smiled. Taylor beamed a smile at her, and Amy squirmed but grinned.

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at Sherrel "Well, we should head home. I guess. The girls have gone back to the Battery. According to the news people and the internet. That is damn handy them being followed by thousands of people."

Sherrel nodded "And you having a smart phone. Such a dad. We should though, early day tomorrow, we bumped up the trials as the turret is running that testing program without us. Tomorrow is an inspection day, they are going to bore scope and pull over the guns. Then, Sunday we shoot the clearing rounds to break the time lock on the test area. Can't leave it, somebody might drive into it."

Neil nodded "Yours are home. Mine, well one of them is with yours and the other is god knows where with his friends. Guess I should ask a pointed question or two."

"You know he is at Jeff Schumer's house playing one of those stupid games, like always." Sarah supplied.

Neil sighed "Why can't he be sensible like Amy, Taylor, and Rachel, and catch a girl?"

Mark smiled "Or two."

Carol sighed "Which I still don't get. First off, two? And then where would they get a Y chromosome? Won't they just have daughters even if Amy can do something about the rest of it?"

Danny laughed "I'm sure they will come up with something. Are you thinking future grandchildren? Bit of a one eighty for you?"

"They seem pretty committed. Rachel is getting there, they are all fertile and have fertile imaginations. Thank god they keep dreaming up stuff and idiots have helped by keeping them busy. If they succeed against Leviathan, after the fervor dies down, they are going to have some time on their hands. The things that the Lady Merchants did with the money have turned into a large multinational conglomerate that they provide steering for, a job really. They have school, but after that…." Carol left it hanging.

Danny nodded then shook his head "I'm going to wait and see. They are good kids. Made it home right on time." Everyone nodded, including Carol.

Gun Bunny

Vicky flew in inches from the floor and looked around the living area of Taylors apartment. She grinned, Amy, Taylor and Rachel were not there. Heidi walked in after her "We the first back from dropping our dates off? Want to go paparazzi hunting?"

"Better wait for Ryu."

Sally walked in "I'm here, what were we waiting for?" She looked around the living area and grinned. "Oh, a patrol then. Let me text the others and see who is up for it."

Heidi walked to the door "I'll get Lisa. She went to her apartment here."

Vicky sat on the sofa "Does she even keep any of those others anymore."

Sally frowned "I don't know. We can grill her while we patrol."

"Patrol. Yeah OK, that sounds better than 'beat up Paparazzi'."

Gun Bunny

"NEGATION' The Simugh was beginning to understand why those scenario shows on the information network trained females to deal with idiot brothers.

"Relativity"

Simurgh contemplated how to get the information across with a 'Oh My Gawd, you are so stupid' attached to it. Administrator had just made all of those things and they had already tested them. The results of those test needed to be observed and a weakness found. Brute strength and speed was not going to suffice here. Even if you had the element of surprise. Administrators host was very agile. The surprise would last milliseconds and then Two would be a statue for an eon. Hmm, that would be a chance to get father to call six so she could have some female company however. She crossed her legs comfortably at the ankle and tapped her chin thoughtfully. Was it worth risking talking to father, the idiot?

Gun Bunny

"Colin-"

"I see it Dragon. I am sending out an alert. More novel behavior. Almost like she is planning something but is being frustrated somehow."

"Colin, did you notice she is wearing yoga shorts and a sports bra now?"

Colin rechecked the image "I will report this as well."

Dragon wanted to roll her eyes. "The same sort Battery Lordsport wears Colin. Or the same cut anyway."

"Are they those Lulu things? We can make an enquiry?"

After a moment of silence Dragon replied "I don't know how well those would hold up to conditions on orbit Colin."

"Hmmm."

Dragon contemplated having one of her smallest suits go to a bar for a drink, or maybe a row of shots and some anonymous sex with a stranger. She hummed some of 'Tequila makes her clothes fall off' while she worked on her human replica drone some more.


	25. Chapter 25

Gun Bunny Twenty Five

"Bored."

"Your sister is a saint."

Heidi grinned at the byplay, the bitchiness from being ditched by the Truple was strong with these ones. "Lights over there."

"That's the Bay, take us over there." Ryu ordered.

"Ma'am, aye aye Ma'am!"

"Just drive Heidi." Sally sighed. She was having to grown up tonight.

When the group arrived, after watching some scurrying and hearing "Standby to land aircraft!" Heidi slotted the platform into its hanger as a guy in a white shirt and kaki vest made hand and arm signals with lit paddles she mostly got, then a person in a green shirt worked the controls to lock the clamps down. The platform was then swarmed by people in brown, blue, green, and red shirts as she stopped her power. They all turned to the door in the railing of the platform and blinked as a boson's pipe sounded and a loudspeaker announced "Night CAP arriving!" The girls were all glad they had mask, and most of their costumes, on due to the cold. Cheap ones but still mask. The fantail was full of people. Smiling people who were obviously thrilled. All holding cameras. Ryu asked the nearest person in kakis "Chief? What the hell is going on?"

The Chief Petty officer turned to her and chuckled "They were all lined up and we weren't doing anything after securing the ship and connecting it to the shore side facilities. Some of those guys from the museum ships are here, the ticket taking and waiting room facilities are already in place, we decided we could take some tours. Then the Airedales here decided we needed an aircraft division since we had aircraft on board.

"We have a Division for everything else and Chiefs for them so…. Well the CS Chief got in the galley and the next thing you know we are taking dinner tours, they pay for the dinners, More money gets them dinner in the officers mess, not the Admirals mess as he is using that, his cabin and bridge. Captain Graham let them use the senior officer's mess though, for even more money and the senior officers are working in there and answering questions. Don't ask me how CSC figured out the prices, but its apparently good food for a great price. Then one of the GM's found a bunch of homeless kids aboard so ran them through a shower and the sick bay, found them cut down uniforms somewhere, in one of the magic lockers probably. Then tried to put them in a berthing area but they were wandering, so they are ships boys, and girls. Actually pretty helpful now that we gave them maps and some basic instruction. Keep the POs busy too."

Vicky blinked and walked to the dockside rail "There is a line stretching out of sight. What are they going to do when Taylor takes the boat out again tomorrow? And what is a magic locker?"

The Chief walked over and pointed, several ships were docked to the same pier. "Museum fleets got some of their ships here. And it's a ship not a boat ma'am. PT's and a Fletcher. A Gearing is supposedly going to make port in an hour or so. That will keep the tourist happy, which most of these are, tourist near the end of their stay, we asked and they get priority. Some of them are checking out of their hotel and having their bags delivered so they can stay aboard. We will have them off in time to sail. The Shop will book stay aboards as a regular feature now."

Ryu looked skeptical. The Chief laughed "Yeah my thoughts exactly, but we are conducting revile and a shake down inspection at six, we will have them fed and off by nine."

Rune shrugged "You get a chance to excel. She's running fairly hard?"

"Chief Engineer running more of the test program. She is loaded pretty heavy supplying power to the grid and running the complete weapons suite and hotel load. Twelve hour test. We are six, almost seven hours in. CS Chief is using all the power the circuits can take and all three watches of culinary specialist. He will sleep the whole time we are at sea.

Lisa finally asked "Magic Lockers?"

"Yes Ma'am. If you need something, look in a locker or hold, it's usually there. If not the CSC comes up with it."

Heidi watched people in red shirts climb on the platform and start working on the weapons. The Chief nodded "Gunners Mates, more recently retired guys with the older guys. The other guys just checked the guns, these are getting some training on servicing them. The damn Airedales make them where those red shirts on the 'Flight Deck'.

Ryu shook her head "Well, not bored anymore."

Vicky nodded firmly "I'll say." They followed the Chief of the Watch as he showed them all the stuff going on. It was three a.m. by the time they got back to the Battery. Though it was only a quarter mile walk. Ryu snorted looking in Taylor's apartment, finding the public areas empty and finding none of the truple in their rooms. The girls grinned at each other and went to bed. Lisa sent a video describing what was going on on board the ship. Waggling her eyebrows and with innuendo laden commentary from all the girls.

Gun Bunny

Danny walked in expecting a wrecked apartment and was pleasantly surprised to find everything normal. He started breakfast. Taylor wandered out of her bedroom, drawn by bacon apparently, in a pink shorty robe and fluffy bunny slippers. He had to smile as Amy and Rachel wandered out in boxers and wife beaters. Taylor hadn't blushed or anything so he didn't have to dad apparently. He could treat it like a sleep over. Head firmly in the sand.

Jimmy walked in the door "Oh hell nah, Tay is fine, nice sweety, looking good, you two about face, forward march! There is no way you are ready for the morning show live cuts. What the hell did you do to your hair Amy? Is there an actual squirrel living in there? Bed head I get but that is just taking it to a whole new level, past FFBH even. Rachel, you don't have a package, what are you checking?"

Danny stood spatula in hand watching as the two girls were chivvied into the bedroom suite again with Jimmy following along towing his rolling cabinet. "Taylor?"

"Big night. Apparently the retired Chiefs and others got a jump on the museum ship income. They did tours, served some chow, and had some overnights. Now they are putting people through some kind of watch change and morning chow, or something. End result is the ones leaving town today are being gotten up and ready and the rest are being put to work. Sort of. We made a pile of money though."

Danny turned on the small TV just as Natalie came in with Mary and the crew. Danny looked between her in real life and her on the TV and listened to the briefing and the broadcast lead in. They were apparently going to do some 'domestic shots.' And a mini interview during breakfast. He checked his watch and nodded as the Anchor cut to the crew covering the turret as it swiveled and the gun barrels dropped to loading position. The shooting schedule started at 0800.

Gun Bunny

Emily Piggot looked at the screen in operations. She turned to the full table and live screens on the walls. "Busy night then."

Lauren Hyde, the on shift battle captain nodded "Yes Ma'am. Battery Lordsport was busy as well and ran a patrol minus the Truple. They picked up a mugger and two pick pockets. Plus chasing several paparazzi around town. The film on that is pretty amusing, the flyers in the group herding and Rune with the platform blocking. A bunch of those shotguns of gun Bunny's. No one seriously hurt, though one paparazzi left town."

"Saved a mugger and two pickpockets you mean. Those people they were trying to rob and the folks nearby were looking for ropes and streetlights. This town. It's like the wild, wild, west. I guess a lynching shouldn't surprise me." Emily shook her head "All right, according to the new schedule the Brockton Bay is casting off lines at 0900. They have a full day on the water for testing planned. The turret is going to continue the testing program. Tomorrow the Bay is going to leave at 0900 hundred and move to a position offshore then test her guns breaking the frozen test area out.

"Wards are with the Brockton Bay today by invitation." Glenn nodded like a bobble head. "Justine working overtime I see. Natalie and her crew will be doing live Broadcast from the Brocton Bay, how? Satellite uplink I guess?"

Armsmaster nodded "Excellent communication facilities aboard."

"If I could time travel I would go back and have a serious conversation with the me that got me in this mess. Karma being a raging bitch. OK, so other than Battery Lordsport?"

Gun Bunny

Admiral Hoel looked around the Admirals mess and chuckled. The Commandant and Chief of Staff Army shook their heads. Army said "Lucky Bastard, go Navy. Yay."

The Commandant grinned "Air force no showed? Crew rest?" The others chuckled.

Admiral Hoel shook his head "Unmanned cannon launched flight apparently isn't in their 'wheelhouse' I may have to remind the Chief Airedale there are actually ranks." Army and Marine Corps winced. "So, you both want to talk to Bakuda and Squealer?"

Army nodded "Yes sir. After we iron out who is going to run the shore batteries and where they are going to be."

The Commandant added "Right now it will have to be joint, or at least triservice as none of us have the personnel needed and they are all going to have to be trained by the retired brought back to active duty. Army has dug into their records to come up with shore battery doctrine. We have artillerymen, we might need to form a corps like the old coastal artillery corps.

"Air force is terrified of what this will do to their budgets, and who can blame them. We get a defense that will apparently actually work for the cost of seven of those F 35s they are talking about."

Army nodded "They had hoped to regain relevance with those."

Admiral Hoel nodded "And this proposal that they will all belong to City State Brockton Bay and we will lease them?"

The Commandant nodded "A elegant solution to the problem of putting them in foreign countries and, if the fiction holds up, a viable alternative. Someone at State ate their smart pills the morning they came up with that whole lie."

Admiral Hoel smiled "Diplomatic fiction, which will hold up. because who could possibly want to forgo a cheap endbringer defense, even if it only works against the seaborne threat."

Army nodded and swallowed some of his steak from the steak and egg breakfast he was eating "Or could survive the revolution that happened immediately on their refusal."

The Commandant nervously rearranged his silverware, for the third time, on his plate. Admiral Hoel frowned "George? Are you all right? Do we need a corpsman up here? I know Eddie is going to keel over from blocked arteries but you are never nervous."

"The Truple."

Admiral Hoel winced "Ah, yes. We still haven't swallowed the homosexuals being in the service have we."

Army shrugged "We have. You aren't supposed to do, talk about, or display, private things on duty anyway. Married people can't even hold hands for gods sake. It doesn't matter what they do in private as long as they stay fit for duty. Never did see the Corps resistance to even just heterosexual women as smart. Fifty one percent of the population and an all volunteer military. Find 'em jobs, that the congress doesn't have apoplexy over, and put them to work."

The Commandant sighed "Marines can be hard headed."

Admiral Hoel laughed out loud. Army joined him. The Commandant scowled mightily. The other minor constellations in the room laughed harder. Out in the Admirals ward room the one and two star aides looked at each other and shrugged. Then they got on with making their constellations wishes reality over a really good breakfast.

Down in the Master Chiefs mess the Master Chiefs and Sergeants Majors shuddered and sighed. There was a strange feeling in the force. As if millions of retired Senior Non Commissioned Officers had cried out, and been suddenly silenced, with a slap, from their wives or partners.

Gun Bunny

Taylor blinked at the camera "Well, people do stuff, they seem to be having fun, it makes a little money and helps people, so its all good? We were going to give tours, that was already in the works. I'm happy to get a look at the other museum ships. I don't know about fixing them back to their original condition. I mean I probably could, but then isn't the character lost a bit? I could make them a copy out of stronger stuff and max out the designs though.

Natalie nodded "There is some debate over that. It has been suggested that only original materials and methods should be used on the ships. Like registered buildings."

Taylor shrugged "We will see what happens. Meanwhile Amy will look at the Docents. Lots of history walking around there, it doesn't need to be lost. And we have a yard and Graving Dock so can go whichever way they decide. I'm kind of busy getting everything tested."

Natalie nodded "And you still plan to hunt Leviathan?"

"Nope, going to kill him. Cage him if I can't kill him. He is next up and I'm getting a little upset not being able to take these things out."

Natalie nodded and showed Taylor a picture "The Simurgh is wearing our, or rather Battery Lordsport's, standard workout clothes."

"Bleep pale skinned bleep bleep I'll break a foot off in her bleep." Clive gave the ghostly pale Mary a thumbs up. "Fubleeeeeeepitch." He dropped his hand quick enough to get that one as well. Mary put her face in her hands. Natalie was laughing like a donkey braying.

Sherrel had walked in for the last one and went and sat in Danny's lap and stole his waffle, or some of it, and a piece of bacon. She chewed and swallowed looking at the furious Taylor "You can get a rematch. You know she is allegedly a tinker-" Clive just held the bleep button down. The Anchor, looking surprised, segued to the weather and a giggling meteorologist. Hector heard the director in his ear piece and stopped his camera. Mary started working on reestablishing some order.

Gun Bunny

The Chief of the Boat Looked at Katherine "Captain on the bridge!"

Katherine smiled tightly "OK folks. As you saw on the morning show, Gun Bunny is a little tense. Lets get the civilians off and the ship ready to get underway. Pull the lines in and let her stay on station keeping. I have a feeling it is going to be an interesting day."

The bridge crew got busy and the CIC came up to speed. CSN Brockton Bay sounded two precisely four second blast of her horn and the loudspeakers announced "Set underway conditions, all visitors ashore."

The Chief turned to Katherine "The ships boys and girls?"

"OOD get in touch with Justine and ask her what she wants done with them."

The Chief settled and went back to observing and pacing from one bridge wing to the other.

Gun Bunny

Justine looked around the room while holding her phone to her ear Taylor was still fuming. Sometimes girls just didnt get along. Well did anyone get along with the Simurgh? Amy and Rachel were not being helpful fully agreeing all the time. After last night an outside opinion in the face of those two sets of crossed arms wasn't going any fucking where. Maybe... "OK here is what we do." She walked over to Mary.

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked at the mixed uniformed and rainbow shirted side boys and girls and grinned. Then she went and talked to them after returning the one in kakhis salute. That 'Brockton Bay Arriving' in the falsely deep kids voice after the slightly warblely bosons pipe had been darling, if a little pretentious.

Katherine looked down from a bridge wing "Justine is a genius."

Admiral Hoel looked down from the admirals bridge and smiled at the crowd rambling around the deck. Taylor, Gun Bunny, was doing an inspection and playing with the ships boys and girls all at the same time. She was also smiling again. Amy was touching every one of those children and Rachel had gathered a flock of them. A mixed pack of dogs and kids.

Gun Bunny

Three was amazed. Administrator was running wild and flooding the connections with data. Perhaps something should be done about host mental capacity having a required minimum. It seemed this host was optimized. Of course Administrator had never been deployed before. Maybe that was it.

Meanwhile two was an idiot. He still, and there was no way he wasn't a he! Only a male sapience would be so stupid. All the scenario training pointed this out. At any rate he was still sliding along in the aquatic creature waste intending to attack Administrators host. This was going to go exceptionally badly. For Two. The Idiot.

At least they were free from Father, perhaps where two got his idiocy, did the combined shard host entity influence them at the inception of the iteration? Oh! Maybe two could be released and recalled and it would fix him? After all One had sunk into the core and was busy working on those things to make the planet more stable and increase its longevity. Of course that was going to cause some things the host population would be upset over as stresses were relieved, but it had occurred in an uncontrolled way naturally before. The overall frequency would go down, though the severity would go up several orders of magnitude. If two could join the discussion, after Administrator did whatever she was going to finally decide to do, and not launch him into orbit or leave him caged forever, the far reaching secondary effects could be contained. Plus then the idiot would be in her refuge if she put him in orbit. No. Just no! Obviously she would have to PM Gun Bunny on PHO.

And then there was Scion. Another male. Another idiot, a retarded one. What could the Thinker have seen in it? Were females really attracted to the ones who were, well, bad for them, in the end?

Administrator seemed to have overcome that as well, Shaper could, after all, work around those issues. Shapers host was great this time around as well. Modifier was delicious. Three could see the attraction. Modifier was so happy too. Such a grump usually, and now, well the humming in the net was an indicator wasn't it? Administrator and Shaper were lucky. Modifier too. Last rest period hadn't been very restful. There go the facial actuators again. What was that?

Gun Bunny

Dragon blinked at the feed showing the salacious smirk that crossed the Simurghs face. She captured that data package and saved it in multiple locations. "Colin-"

"Yes I saw. Have you noticed her wings have rearranged themselves, or she rearranged them, since she adopted the 'clothing' She now has two pair of flight wings on her back and what I assume are regular and symmetrical contol canards on her extremities. At the joints. Though they appear to be configured for super sonic flight regimes."

Dragon paused and reviewed the imagery "The supposition has always been that she didn't need her wings for flight and they were for the 'look', like Behemoths spikes, or Leviathans otherworldly lizard appearance."

"So vanity, or she is projecting a new image." Dragon nodded thoughtfully, or her projection did. what possible purpose could looking like the quintessential North American girl next door, albeit the best looking one in the area, with wings serve?

Gin Bunny

Missy looked at Dennis "What is it now old woman. We are on a boat! Its super interesting. And Taylor, along with the geniuses are wowing everyone. Rachel is making me reconsider women in the romantic sense working with the kids and dogs. We are cruising with the wind to hold the windspeed down so we can walk around on deck, the sun is shinning, what could be wrong now?"

"The Simurgh is a super hotty."

"Wut?" Missy tilted her head to one side slightly trying to parse the latest idiocy.

Chris nodded and held out a tablet "Imagery from today. She has reconfigured herself and she is pretty."

Dean nodded "It's her face being mobile now, and the yoga shorts and sports bra, maybe the ankle socks as well. Although that got some whining from a certain audience segment. Plus the wing configuration is more in line with our expected norms, if slightly bug like, like a souped up dragon fly."

Dennis waved him off "Got a ass that would stop traffic, abs for years, and, those boobs!" He held his cupped, spread fingered hands, in front of his chest.

Missy huffed and went to find the girls. The collective intelligence of the Wards had just been boob bombed. Maybe if they had them boys wouldn't be so fascinated by them. Hers were getting to be in the way of some things. She had had to ask Battery about that. Asking Miss Militia would have been like asking mom! Though a lot of the female heroes and troopers had had advice, and ways to give it right in front of the idiot boys. And then there was the website you could only get on if you were a, multiply independently verified, girl. The teen section there was full of useful information.


	26. Chapter 26

Gun Bunny 26

Taylor lay down on the towel on the oddly soft section of teak deck forward of turret one twelve and moaned a bit as Amy, completely needlessly, she had made Taylor and all the girls, proof against a sunburn nearly unconsciously as she worked them over, to avoid any type of cancer ever, oiled her back. Massaging her shoulders and lower back as she did. She had just gotten through with Rachel. It was how she relaxed, and let her check them at a molecular level as she relaxed by diving in their physiology. The older of the homeless girls blushed and the boys turned their heads. It was late in the afternoon and the Brockton Bay was back at the dock after a very full day. The in port watch was set, the docents and museum staff were managing crowds and the penultimate stop on the tour led right past Battery Lordsport's new favorite lounging spot. The tourist were parading past between the thick, brilliantly white, ropes strung between apparently teak post and the variously camouflage colored ships railing to the forward anti-aircraft installations and the Docent standing there waiting. A dome less phalanx type mount with a forty millimeter chain gun in the very tip of the bow, two quad forty mounts, except they were fifty seven millimeter guns in that classic world war two mark one and mark two configuration, also with a dome less phalanx style director and finally miniguns scattered liberally in remote mounts where the circles of the gun tubs came together. The Navy veterans among the tourist minds were thoroughly blown by the installation and the fact they were allowed to crawl over it and then through the hatch armored hatch to see the ammunition and power feeds. While their wives, or partners, and some of their children drifted back to the white rope barricade and stood, respectfully, watching Battery Lordsport, and their recent recruits, take in the sun and lounge after a hard day. Taking in a little sun and the warmth of the amazingly soft, smooth, heated deck under their feet themselves. They never noticed the wind reduced from the flag straightening velocity over the harbor and docks to a pleasant breeze as it came over the rail and past the scuppers.

Katherine looked at Sherrel, turning away from the monitor in the ward room "And the effect of that shield is to reduce the wind speed across the human occupied areas of the ship."

Sherrel nodded "And the areas they might have to work. But that has to be turned on and off. The wind speed and direction measuring sensors had to go somewhere. Need true speeds for the guns. A little for navigation. Plus Bakuda uses all the crap we mine out of the air for something. Like the crap we mine out of the water, exhaust, sewage system, everything that goes in or out that isn't H2O or just O, even some of the O she has a use for."

Danny sighed. He was looking at the blue prints "Its right here on the print. Don't know how we missed it."

Sherrel shrugged "A line a few thou wide. You wouldn't see it unless the field contacts something, and then, well you would be in front of it, in that ones case, so headed into the port inboard pump jet pod intake. Then in the cell. Unless it didn't work. Then you would be, chum maybe."

Admiral Hoel nodded "And you check the cell how many times a day? What are your provisions for prisoners who need medical care? What happens to everything else your ingenious system sucks up? Aside from the occasional scuba diver? Additionally, how is it going to handle shells?"

Sherrel grinned "Thanks Admiral! The cell is time locked so we don't have to check. It is also space expanded. Vista and Bakuda did that, it hurts my head trying to figure out how. The stuff is sorted and sent where we can use it, refinery, scrap pile, tank farm, whichever. The wildlife is scanned and returned to the ocean. If that's where it belongs, that one black bear got sent to one of the parks up in the hills. How he got all the way out in the channel is what I want to know. We figure he was fishing in the tidal pools on the barrier island. He was full of fish.

"We don't know about shells but it eats low caliber bullets like popcorn. We suspect it could be overloaded, parahumans do exist, hence the thirty thousand tons of various collapsium materials.

"Speaking of fishing There has been some discussion of getting the appropriate licenses and sending the consumable marine life that is in season to the cannery, or processing station. maybe salt water ponds or netted areas in the bay for holding before processing. You cannot believe how many blue fin tuna we run over, or how much the Japanese will pay for them. Probably a premium if we can ship live. Everybody scared off the water, the marine animal populations are huge. Well, the blue water species, coastal fishermen don't scare so easy. We haven't worked up the nerve to tell Gun Bunny she built the biggest trawler in the history of the world, yet. We do have the baskets to fly though." Admiral Hoel chuckled while Danny softly banged his head on the wardroom conference table.

Katherine shrugged "Or we can just fly the actual appropriate signal and shapes."

Gun Bunny

Lorraine looked at Danny and Sherrel. She had walked into Sherrel's apartment in the Battery, fortunately for Danny's sanity, not interrupting anything. Not that it would have mattered to either Sherrel or Lorraine. "You are very much not saying anything about your daughter being in a relationship with two people."

Danny nodded "Nope." Lorraine waved her hand in a more motion. "Haven't walked in on anything, don't know what kind of relationship they have for sure. She, they, get home before curfew, do their schoolwork, and do whatever other work they need to. I haven't even seen them kiss in public other than the couple of times in Australia. Taylor has had the talk, so has Rachel. Pretty sure Amy has as well. They aren't hurting each other even if what you and everyone else is assuming is happening really is. Oh, they are as happy as I have ever seen any of them, more in Taylors case even." Lorraine looked at him blankly. Sherrel chuckled as she snuggled into him tighter.

Gun Bunny

"No Mom."

"Vicky, I am still responsible for Amy. I need to get in there to talk to her."

Vicky rolled her eyes, "You just talked to her, on the phone. I actually saw you do it. When Taylor says they are going to bed that's what they are doing. Probably to sleep."

Carol frowned "Rachel is of age."

Vicky nodded "Physically at least. And an A class parahuman shaker slash master, with an S class bio tinker and S class shaker girlfriend. Who have fought multiple Endbringers? Both of whom are certified freaking geniuses, and who is no slouch herself in the educational department now the special education people got a hold of her and figured out how she thinks and learns, and was never mentally defective like some people thought. Just, what did they say? Taciturn, yeah. She doesn't talk much. Not sure what your point was going to be."

"A relationship between adults and children is illegal!"

Vicky laughed "I would love to see you get a conviction. Even if you did, it's Gun Bunny. Be prepared for some hard rain. At interstellar velocities, if you try to separate them. Or just generally piss her off enough. Then Amy would probably have a plague or two for you. Rachel, well you might be able to deal with her."

Sarah Pelham nodded "Told you Carol."

"So they just do whatever they want!" Carol barked.

Vicky shrugged "Duh. Good thing what they want helps almost everyone isn't it."

"There are laws Victoria!"

Vicky sighed "Yeah, mostly outmoded, written by men trying to make money or get votes. I like the really old laws myself, the ones written in stone. They aren't violating them, well, except that killing one. And not that one anymore lately. I think that has to get sorted out between them and the guy that handed those down. I think that same sex prohibition is a bit outmoded, especially in this particular case. Anyway, that isn't or wasn't written in stone was it?" Carols mouth opened then snapped closed. Vicky nodded "Cool, getting a bag. I'm staying in my room in the Battery tonight, we are casting off early tomorrow." She zipped away.

Sarah looked at her sister, got up, walked to the bar across the living room, looked back at her sister, and brought a decanter of a nice bourbon and one of a marvelous red along with some glasses and a bottle of water back to the seating group on a tray.

Carol blinked when the tray was sat down "That is an interesting argument." Sarah chuckled and held up the bourbon decanter. Carol nodded.

Gun Bunny

"Negation!" Ziz, as she thought of herself screamed into the link.

Gun Bunny

People over the earth, the sensitive ones, all shuddered simultaneously.

Gun Bunny

"Dragon." An image appeared in his visor. An image of the Simurgh, in space, apparently having a fit. "More novel behavior."

"Colin, parents call that a fit with a hole in it when their children do it. We have never seen a change of expression before recently. Please note the glowing red eyes as well."

Gun Bunny

Two paused, not only paused but stopped. He squirmed a bit then pulled the sperm whale jaw out from under himself and flung it away.

Gun Bunny

"Colin, the former SOSUS net just picked up a mechanical transient in the Kipovich range of the mid Atlantic ridge complex. It is consistent with some sounds we have picked up from Leviathan before."

Colin did some rapid eye movements "thirty two hundred miles. Closest forecasted target is Halifax Nova Scotia then Portland Maine then Brockton Bay."

"If he doesn't go up the St Lawrence Colin."

"Damn! He could get access to Gary or Chicago!"

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at the priority notice on her PRT phone and sighed. She turned to her monitor and counted "Five, Four, Three" the monitor pinged and a split of twenty screens came up "One."

Meredith 'Rebecca Costa Brown' looked at her. Emily chuckled "No idea, got the notice at the same time you all did, Armsmaster?"

Armsmaster in his split on the screen nodded and began a briefing, at the end he looked up "Questions?"

Meredith sighed "So the Simurgh is turning herself into a member of Battery Lordsport, or their biggest fan, Leviathan did something. Pissed her off, and she had a temper tantrum. We can expect that something was to move toward Brockton Bay. But possibly not."

Alexandria shook her head and typed on a pad in front of her. "The thinker section concurs with Armsmaster and Dragons assessment."

"So he could or could not appear in the next three hours to the next, well, never." Meredith pinched the bridge of her nose. Emily was pretty sure her hair had lightened a couple of shades toward grey.

Dragon shook her head "If he was moving that fast the sonar arrays would pick up the noise. Much more likely to be sometime tomorrow or the day after. That's as fast as he could clandestinely go."

Emily shrugged "Unless he doesn't care and wants a fight."

Director Armstrong snorted "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread. Could we end up with a confrontation between two Endbringers? Ziz is pretty upset. She punched that Tsar Bomba casing she stuffed full of all of that compressed orbital junk to high fractional C. It's already out of the system, lucky we still have eight planets. The Pluto crowd is going to be upset. It surely isn't a planet anymore. It did clean up near space though. The only thing left up there is her."

Legend nodded "She ended that argument forever I think."

Narwhal, on the call as the rep from the other most likely target country, nodded "Maybe we could talk Gun Bunny into taking her under her wing. So to speak." She looked at the splits in her monitor "What? She has had great success turning villains. Pretty much no bigger villain."

Dragon actually snorted "Who she got into a physical fight with. She did shoot Rune and then recruit her though."

Emily looked at the camera, "You people have lost your minds. Did you not see the morning show the other day?"

Legend, who had perked up a bit sagged. "I did. Yes, that will take a bit more time I think."

Rebecca, the real one, looked incredulously at her camera "More than time. Nonstarter. Other ideas?"

Gun Bunny

Lisa stumbled into Taylor's bedroom with blood pouring out of her nose. Amy grabbed her and started barking instructions.

Sally came in carrying Lisa's laptop "The Simurgh is on PHO. She is Winged One. Her brother, well one of them, Leviathan is coming here. She is not fucking happy about it. I think she has a crush on you Taylor. The conversation here, between the cursing and name calling seems to indicate the Endbringers have been released from constraints put on them by the one who called them? Something. Anyway Simurgh says it was Eidolon. Or Lisa made the connection, something."

Taylor sighed "Fuck, my life." Rachel nodded and growled.

"Fuck that, we will deal with this shit later. Rachel go get me that big roast from the fridge and a pitcher of water. Sally warm them both up for me."

Gun Bunny

Admiral Hoel picked up the secure telephone beside his bed "Sir."

"Arrest Eidolon. Enlist Gun Bunny and Battery Lordsport's assistance if required, as a favor to an allied nation. Yes sir."

"No Sir I don't need to know why. You are the Commander in Chief."

"The NSA intercepted some traffic between an Endbringer and Tattletale, allegedly he called the Endbringers into existence. Yes sir. I could just have Gun Bunny shoot him Sir."

"He is probably not aware that he did it, and he is no longer in control of them. Sir that implies he was in control of them until recently."

"An international tribunal I think Mr. President."

"Yes sir, I realize it won't help the ones who have died, but I believe it is the right thing to do. He has done some amazing work, for years Mr. President as well as now taking out the major Parahuman threats. Plus a lynching doesn't really go with a country that purports to follow the rule of law."

"No sir, I am not trying to defend him, however I think you should consider all of the factors. It will come up in his defense. I would be remiss in not informing you."

"Yes Sir, I will capture him."

The Admiral hung up the phone. He sighed and started to get up. His partner reached an arm out and pulled him back down "Let the girl rest Bill. Send some orders to your staff and get the ball rolling. Uh, you might have that Swede stick her head in. If this was Tattletale and not no such agency contractor fantasy hour they are probably already pretty stirred up."

"Did you just give me a wedgie on purpose Marilyn?"

"Nope. Want me to?" Marilyn snickered as she sat up and looked at his face "Oh, just to get it out of the way, I'm sure your nephew, or his chief counsel, will realize by early in the morning, and get me to ask my cousin the SecDef. Can you provide assistance in apprehending the parahuman known as Eidolon under title eighteen section 831 of the US Code?"

"Just covering your bases Madam Attorney General?"

"And Eddy's. He still leaps before he looks at the case law. Amazing he never got disbarred. Good thing he went into politics early I think."

Bill Hoel laughed and wrapped his partner in a hug. "Got any tricks like that for Gun Bunny?"

"Erh no. Let me think about it a while. State came up with that bullshit City State crap. That makes this new ground. Precedent setting new ground. Whichever one of their morons did that needs to be shot, with cat shit. Though it is the right time to be in government. Everybody getting to see Pan Pan on the government dime and all. Haven't felt this good in fifty years.

"Speaking of which, she is going to be livid. You might want a hazmat suit when you spring this on Gun Bunny. A padded one. Bitch will not be best pleased either."

Bill sighed "Nor will the GOTO Council. I'm going to be britished at fairly hard I think."

Marilyn snickered again "Do they know you call them that?"

"They came up with it. It would have been GATO but the Australians pointed out she operates wherever she wants. They decided Ocean was best."

Marilyn snapped her fingers "Have her issue herself a letter of Marque and reprisal for her battle cruiser and crew. Maybe some of the other boats too."

"Ships, that won't hold up will it? Marilyn?" Marilyn had gotten out her computer and was hammering at the law section of the library of congress site. Bill sighed and got up. Apparently her first love, the law, had sung its siren song. He opened his door, his aide de camp and the CS Chief of his residence met him with a cup of coffee and a briefing packet. He took both and the CS Chief walked past him with her tray into the bedroom. She had a steaming tea service to deliver yet. The Marine Guards split into two pairs and one followed him down the hall to his office.

Gun Bunny

Danny arrived in the morning and looked at the destroyed apartment with young women scattered over it. He sighed and started breakfast. And tea. He judged it to be a three pot morning. Sherrel stumbled in with a couple of her girls and he blinked as they went around getting Battery Lordsport up and running. Sherrel made it to him and hopped up on the counter next to where he was working. "Sorry, long evening, then night, and morning, so far.

"The Simurgh is on PHO, her brother, the Leviathan, is coming here and she is not happy. Lisa has been having troll battles with her on PHO for years. When she, or her power, found out it had a Behemoth style meltdown. Another aneurism. Amy was not amused and fixed her brain, or the blood vessels in and near it, and put in pressure regulators and a radiator somehow. Another radiator? Didn't she do that in Brazil?"

Danny nodded and put on another kettle. He checked the fridge "Used a twenty pound on the bone roast. Can Lisa even lift her head now? Does she look like one of those Roswell Aliens?" Sherrel beamed a smile at him and leapt off the counter and onto him. Amy, just leaving the bedroom, looked up at the crash, saw Sherrel astride Danny in the kitchen floor, did an about face, and went back in the bedroom shutting the door firmly. The others hustled out grinning.

A few minutes later Rachel opened the door, stuck her head out pulled it back and Danny heard "She just kissed him stupid. Come on."

Then "Rachel! Leave them alone or I will never get a sister!" Danny blinked, looked at Sherrel and thought about running for just a second, with his animal brain, there was something very large predatory cat like in her gaze.

Sherrel put a delicate foot on his chest standing next to him "I think that's an order from the boss." Danny found himself pulled off the floor and dragged out the door past open doors and giggling females.

Taylor stuck her head out next then opened the door and high fived Rachel as they moved to finish the breakfast the prep had been done for.

AN: I usually have some idea where the story is going. More words in a column on a document rather than an outline. This took a turn. We will see where it goes. May have to fork this story or call this an omake as I have no idea how this is going to turn out. I really like it as a chapter though.


	27. Chapter 27

Gun Bunny 27

"Joey."

"Yeah, I see it Willy."

"Uh, the signal lamp is asking permission to come aboard."

"Yeah, I passed flight deck quals too, got that." Joey, Josephine Martin, the oldest of the former homeless kids, and now the Master Chief of them, an honorary title, but she was who the other Khaki wearing people went to, made a decision and put her vest on "Get em up, we are landing this bird. Talker, let the bridge know we are conducting emergency air ops. Look sharp people she is coming in hot."

Gun Bunny

Armsmaster jerked as his armor shocked him mildly. It was his highest alert level. "Colin, the Simurgh disappeared." Colin ran through all the possible sensors with one eye and looked at Dragons results with the other. Those grueling hours of training, and the debilitating headaches, paying a dividend here. He hadn't achieved full chameleon vision, but he was able to use both eyes separately.

A red flashing light and the PA announcing that they were to prepare for air assault made him look at the local monitor. There, in her new configuration, was the Simurgh on the targeting cameras. She must be far away though, she was tiny, but she was over CSN Brockton Bay, and people were on the fantail getting ready for flight ops? What was going on? "I found her, or a version of her." As the silence from Dragons end of the connection dragged on, he sent several messages. For some reason he stopped short of hitting the Endbringer alarm.

Gun Bunny

"Feel of this." The girls turned to Tattletale from the group giggle they were still in over Squealer cave womaning Danny.

Sally arched a brow "Firmly hetero and you are asexual, or were, allegedly."

"Yeah so?"

"So I am not grabbing your boob. Nope, sit back down. I'm not grabbing that either."

Amy laughed "Warm are they Lisa? I put the additional radiators built out of connective tissue there. What are you looking at on that tablet?"

Lisa put the face of the tablet against her chest "Uh, well. Rachel hold Taylor!"

Rachel looped an arm around her waist pulled Taylor into her lap, and the dogs started growing. Taylor sighed. "The Simurgh did something."

Lisa blinked "How the fuck? Never mind. She is on the boat with the kids. Or about to be. Joey is landing her."

They watched Panacea take off running out the door. Taylor sighed "Fuck, my life. Well, don't just sit there, come on Rachel, before she does something."

"Before?" Rachel asked while moving. They flowed out of the Battery into, mayhem, S tanks and M1A1 AS tanks skittering around like termites from a broken mound. Warning horns blaring out patterns. A Leader and Wingman pair of A10's hiss roared past overhead.

They loped away on the dogs and cruised down Fleet Street, up and over the three story, thousand feet long, rope walk, mast yard, and chandlers building then leapt across to the Brockton Bay. They skidded to a halt, or stopped, with the dogs perched, muscles quivering, on the super structure like wolves in the rocks of some mountain, facing the flight deck and the gang of rainbow shirted kids surrounding the Simurgh who was frozen with Amy gripping an arm. A Simurgh who was not fifteen feet tall. This one was about six five. "Greetings!" They blinked at everything conveyed in that greeting, including peaceful intentions.

Taylor walked up to Amy after sliding to the ground "First, how the fuck did you get here so fast Amy? Second, you seem OK, but as you have a handful of Endbringer abs, and appear to have lost your fucking mind charging in here, I have to ask, you good?"

"No harm Shaper!"

Taylor held a finger up at the Simurgh. A bit dizzy from the content, intentions, ideas conceptualized and conveyed? Whatever, of those three words. Amy nodded slowly "Not human, never was. Some kind of construct, intelligent though, different, but intelligent."

Rachel growled "Stay."

The Simurgh nodded. "Affirmation Modifier."

Amanda and Lucy grabbed their heads. Taylor frowned "So it isn't just the parahumans in the bunch."

Lisa shrugged "They have never been tested."

Taylor looked around. The center gun of three twelve and one gun of six five were aimed dead on the Simurgh and loaded with time stop rounds. As were eleven fifty seven through fourteen fifty seven. She relaxed slightly and eased off enough to safe three twelve. Laser Dream was right there and had been working on her shields. Amy had tuned her up too. She might be able to do something to the smaller calibers. Taylor returned the turret back to back deck protection setting and the guns elevated slightly.

The hundreds of people with guns were a different story. How the hell was that little old lady even holding that Desert Eagle fifty? It looked like it needed a carriage next to her. Osteoporosis was a thing. If she shot it it was going to fold her in half. "OK, we got this, guns away everyone, the-" Armsmaster's motorcycle skidded up and he leapt from its saddle to the fantail deploying his halberd. "PRT Is bound to show up and we don't want any problems." She smirked as guns disappeared everywhere. Including the S&W forties all the kids had out. A dragon suit landed forcefully between the kids and the Simurgh. Taylor sighed. "OK, so what do you want?" She asked the Simurgh.

"Boys are stupid!" They all blinked at the concepts contained in that, past and present. Armsmaster stiffened at the parts that indicated Eidolon was responsible for the Endbringers and had been mastering them.

Dragon added "Everyone is hearing this. I mean everyone, over the planet."

Lisa shook her head and wriggled "Only that last. The other two transmissions were local? Damn, I need less clothes."

Joey snickered "You are wearing sleep shorts and a tank. Less and you will be naked. Have you shaved this week?"

Taylor turned her head to Joey "Really, that's what you ask? And you landed the Simurgh on my ship why exactly?"

"To have control. On the ship she is under you or your officer's orders. Captains are gods." Joey firmly replied.

"Affirmation." The Simurgh added and rendered the hand salute.

Taylor face palmed after returning thee salute on automatic "I'm going to kill PO Sanchez. At ease."

Willy, Wilhelmina Schmidt, frowned "But Master Chief Taylor told us that in the briefing?"

Armsmaster tilted his head "So the Simurgh is seeking asylum on the sovereign territory of CS Brockton Bay? Uh, permission to come aboard?"

"Affirmation!" That one felt like a snap decision. It didn't have years, eons, ages of the universe, attached to it.

Taylor gaped at the Simurgh and then Armsmaster. She glared at the kids when they all giggled. Arching a brow she got an explanation for the giggling "The overheads are going to catch hell. Especially the water tight doors." Joey supplied.

Timmy wondered out loud "Is there even a rack that long? She could sleep with her knees bent, I guess."

Taylor shook her head and looked at the Simurgh "Are you doing this?"

"Negation." OK, the conceptualizing was back. This time of total innocence. Taylor scowled at her. Simurgh looked like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Legend transitioned from a ray of light to a human hovering over the deck. Just about then a Seahawk made a pass.

"Ok Ma'am, if you could move your party off the flight deck? We need to land the Admiral."

"Ma'am? What the actual fuck Joey? Ma'am?"

"Fraternization!"

Taylor glared at the Simurgh then looked at Amy again "I know it's a great set of abs babe, you had enough though?"

Amy jerked her hand back as if scalded "Yeah, for now. I need to think about it. I think I can figure it out."

"Shaper!"

Rachel whistled sharply and the Simurgh clammed up. She didn't say anything, well she hadn't moved her mouth aside from the looks on face, smile, wide eyed innocence, determination, the whole time anyway, you could just feel she wasn't going to communicate, however she was doing it, until Rachel thought it was OK. Everyone blinked. Legend sighed and sat on a massive fairlead by the rail. Timmy in his green shirt and white helmet started chivvying people into clearing his flight deck with calls of "Helo inbound!" Taylor walked off with the Simurgh following her, Amy and Rachel following them. Everyone not involved in flight ops followed, perforce. The dogs leapt down from their perches and shrank, weaving in amongst the people. Or two legged members of their pack, moving up to sniff the Simurgh, then falling back.

Flight operations onboard were nearly overwhelmed with Seahawks, Tigers, and Lynx oh my. Plus now the A10's from the Hundred Thirty Third Fighter Squadron, so Warthogs, and AH 64s, Indians? Native Americans? First Peoples, well that didn't apply since they migrated across the land bridge right? There weren't any people in the Americas at first, anyway, from the One Ninety Fifth Separate Brigade were coming up. Apparently all of them. Plus, in the CIC, armored formations were reporting stood too and ready for assignment. Tanks were reporting set in their battle positions. Last but not least, Alaska one twelve had reported loaded and on target. The OOD was reevaluating her life choices.

Gun Bunny

Emily Piggot arrived to find herself escorted to the Officers mess. She arched a brow at Taylor, who shrugged "Only place big enough."

Emily nodded and looked around at the crowd of people, including Natalie and her crew. "I see. Good morning, Gun Bunny, Admiral, Members of Battery Lordsport, Crew of the Brockton Bay. You as well, members of the media."

Admiral Hoel grinned "Nicely done. I already told them there were some things we needed to discuss in private. We are waiting on the Attorney General and a representative from State. It's a bit early for the Washington crowd."

"They better have sea qualified pilots, we are casting off in twenty minutes." Taylor announced.

Emily shrugged "Mine are. Plus the Protectorate and about half the PRT are on board."

Taylor nodded and Simon, the ships kids CS rep nodded "I'll let Chief know, we laid in full stores though, the tourist you know, so it should be good. We'll get with the aides for dietary requirements." He set his tea service down and poured for Taylor, switching to coffee for Admiral Hoel and back to tea for the Director and Legend. His watcher nodded in approval.

Emily took a sip and smiled. A good strong, black, breakfast tea. None of that sissy stuff. She looked at the Simurgh sitting primly at a table with the rest of Battery Lordsport and shook her head. "I expected to walk into a fight."

Taylor shrugged "Lis, uh Tattletale tricked me. She didn't account for Panacea racing over here from the Battery and trying to drop the Simurgh though."

Emily looked to where Panacea had a grip on the Simurgh's arm "Is she still trying?"

Taylor chuckled "No. Now she is working on figuring out how an Endbringer is put together. Apparently she isn't limited to earth biology. Surprise!"

Emily eyed Taylor critically then smiled gently. The PRT in the room tightened their grips on their weapons "Tough morning?"

"Like you wouldn't believe, since damn early. Its taking everything we can do to keep it from distracting Dad and Squealer." Taylor then blushed. Admiral Hoel and Director Piggot blinked then laughed.

Alexandria stormed in and Legend intercepted her. They moved to a table in the corner of the large mess and a steward, a regular crew member, or as regular as it got in the CSN, brought a service. Taylor chuckled now "What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall for that. Imagine finding out someone you have worked with forever is a, a, I don't know what."

"Master, who is a villain, the worst villain ever. They will both need to go to M/S screening for a couple of years if what the Simurgh broadcast is true. Needless to say, Eidolon will have to be apprehended." Emily supplied.

Admiral Hoel nodded "Well, since that is out in the open. I have been asked to ask you for assistance in apprehending Eidolon Gun Bunny. The Military of the United States will be working on his apprehension."

"What!" Emily barked "Posse Comitatus and the Insurrection act prevent using the military for civil matters! Wait, you are waiting for the Attorney General, you expect an exception based on title eighteen section 831 of the US Code as passed before the advent of the PRT."

Taylor looked blank and Admiral Hoel smiled. Taylor narrowed her eyes "I think I need my lawyers, all of them."

Emily looked at her "The fifty fighting off the hundreds of wrongful death suits, since the prosecutors decided all those bodies on you were defense of self and others, or the eleven doing hundreds of contracts a month, not the patent ones I think."

Taylor nodded "Yes. And it was. I didn't trigger myself."

Amanda waved her tablet catching her eye and got a beaming smile, then a growl from Rachel and a flat look from the Simurgh. Which was terrifying, her face completely stilled, Blue eyes or not, that red coming up in the pupil didn't help at all "Sorry, a girl can dream though. Ouch!" Lucy had pinched her, hard. The others laughed. The Simurgh's face unfroze.

Emily swallowed the argument that trigger effects only bought you so much leeway. Having the Simurgh apparently on your team bought you much more than leeway.

Gun Bunny

Danny was lying on the bed with Sherrel cuddled mostly on his chest. and the sheet sort of haphazardly draped over her, thus him, from the waist down. They needed a shower. Which had some interesting possibilities he thought. The door opened and Lorraine walked in with a tablet "Resting? Good, here look at this." Danny just smiled, which froze Lorraine and Sherrel for a moment. Lorraine recovered and tapped a radio button on the screen. She watched the two's faces.

Finally after twenty minutes Danny looked up "Since six o'clock this morning? What the actual fuck?" Lorraine and Sherrel froze then rolled around the bed laughing. Danny pouting made them laugh longer. Lorraine finally wrinkled her nose and pushed them toward the shower before dialing up housekeeping. Then she opened a window. Squealer maintained her hold on Danny, and the sheet, somehow, and looked over her shoulder to smirk at Lorraine checking out Danny's ass. Lorraine laughed and gave her two thumbs up.

Gun Bunny

Marilyn sat in the deck chair beside Bill, sipping the virgin cocktail she had been handed by a child in a crisp white jacket. With an adult in an even crisper white jacket watching. "No wonder you wander off every day. This is fabulous, and not just the scenery. It's like nineteen forty six, if we put some maillots on those girls instead of those bikini's I would be having flashbacks to my time with the Judge Advocate General after the War in the Pacific and Italy." She looked pointedly at the Simurgh in a bikini with Amy oiling her back.

Bill chuckled "Isn't she too young though, I mean she is the youngest, erh, female, there, if that even applies, nine right? I think I like mine a little more mature, and human."

"Nice save sailor. So no hunting the Dadversarie, those girls, they come up with the strangest things, Sally is a hazard, until after we spank Leviathan."

"Which should take about fourteen seconds. Ziz is pretty pissed. And fully believes every Disney tween and young person show she has ever watched and she has watched them all. And all the Nickelodeon shows, from here and Aleph. Someone needs to show her Old Yeller."

"As long as Bakuda figures out a top to her fishbowl. If he ends up in orbit she will never leave. And I need to get that movie banned and burned, are you crazy? Not until she is twenty."

Bill looked at her "Are we sure there is no alcohol in that? She is never leaving anyway. And Bitch thinks she is a stray, which needs a firm hand and training. Panacea has a new project. Gun Bunny, well she is tolerating her, as long as she keeps fixing things, which she is doing from over there on the deck, across the planet. I don't think sandbagging is a strong enough term for what they have been doing.

"We needing Leviathan, after he is spanked, brought into compliance with the entertainment industries ideal of boys, whatever her plan is, to help fix the planet and all the economies, is the only thing giving Taylor pause. Actually Lisa backing those ideas, concepts, whatever, up.

"Armsmaster and Dragon standing over Panacea and playing fifty million questions is interesting though."

Marilyn chuckled "I thought that phone call from Mr. Hebert was interesting."

Bill snorted "I think he needs a shrink, Squealer must be amazing, something. I would not have needed transport out here, ever seen a red hot bearing dropped in water? It kind of dances across the top.

"If she wasn't a superpower she sure as hell is now. The Superpower"

Marilyn nodded "You have met him though. I'll have to meet them both when the girls aren't scheming to get Gun Bunny a sister.

"That idiot at State must be a precog. That whole fiction just became reality. It was headed there already, slightly tenuous path, but it was getting there with every country that nodded and winked at the fiction, this cast it in stone. She has an Endbringer who can talk to, and get responses from, at least one of the others. And will have the other one in control soon."

"Good thing. The two parts of the Triumvirate we have are resisting. Broken maybe." Bill looked further toward the bow and open turret one forty where Legend and Alexandria stood facing out to sea.

Gun Bunny

"If I jump would the props of this thing kill me?"

"No. Squealer put one of those portal things on it like the mining things, thing one and thing two, have. You would end up in a cell and I would kill you."

Legend chuckled "What are we going to do?"

"Like I know?"

"You are the thinker Rebecca. Tower on your catsuit, Alexandria, all of that. The Simurgh says they, all the Endbringers, were called by a parahuman, David, and the thinkers are backing her up. There are seventeen more of them that could be called! She is over there being the most powerful young teen, preteen maybe, on the planet. Hating males."

"Yes, well, this needs more thought. The Simurgh seems to be well in hand, from that little smile on Panacea's face a few minutes ago I think she figured out how to end the problem if there ever is one. Hellhound seems a bit protective though. Obviously Panacea has something else she is working on right now, not to mention all the information Armsmaster and Dragon are posting in the classified net. I think we have to catch David at this point. We will need some good representation for him and a plan though. An insanity type defense might work. Non Compos Mentis fits to a T, for the first time since science." Rebecca replied.

They both spun at the pressure wave and sharp whistle that passed over them. Amy was sitting on her butt on the deck and the Simurgh, the real one, frozen face and all, though not fifteen feet tall, had one hand wrapped around the throat of a man in a bone mask and crown and one around a tall woman wearing an ornate mask. They both flew near enough to hear.

"Well this is a shock, do you suppose she missed?" The man asked.

The woman rolled her eyes. The Simurgh scowled "Boys!" Rachel whistled sharply again and the Simurgh stopped closing her hand, the one that held the man.

Dragon leaned forward menacingly, not hard to do in a suit that was twelve feet tall and had a dragons head "Marquis, and Lustrum."

Marquis only had eyes for one person "Amelia?"

"Daddy?"

Taylor flopped back down on the deck "What the actual fuck is with today?"

Lustrum asked from her tip toes "Perhaps this is a bad time Tay, Gun Bunny?"

"Do I know you?"

"I was a friend of your mothers. I haven't seen you since you were a babe in arms. Annette came to my sentencing. Interesting girlfriends."

Sally snorted "And this from someone who hangs out with Glastig Uaine and Black Kaze, oh! String Theory!"

Taylor never moved "I am done with today. Ziz, scramble their brains and send them back to where they came from if they act up." She closed her eyes. Amy wriggled around and laid a hand on her abdomen, Rachel sat on her other side. Taylor raised her right hand, which filled with a Thompson Center Contender in .308 Winchester, and blew the latest snitch out of the air. With her eyes still closed. You could hear the scream from the cigar boat barely keeping pace over its straining V12 tinked Packard knockoff. Four miles off the port quarter of the stern.

Ziz huffed "Boys!" The stern of the cigar boat exploded. She smirked. Then looked innocent "Leet."

Missy nodded and lay down in a bikini, stunning her teammates into immobility, and not over it being green and white, or her keeping her visor on. "Preach sister." Taylor nodded and un-manifested her Contender.

Marilyn looked at Bill with an arched brow. He shrugged "A Marine could make that shot."

"Phhht. Not on his best day. Ziz bring those escapees over here. Somebody get my laptop, and my stenographer, she was following Chief Yarrow around in the turrets. Girl has a boat fetish. Maybe gun fetish." Nobody mentioned it might be a Chief Yarrow fetish, as the 'girl' was over fifty.

Emily blinked "You are going to interrogate them Madam Attorney General?"

"Might as well. They don't look like they were exactly dressed for an escape across a vacuum, and Glastig does what she wants. I have a feeling they weren't necessarily willing. Plus Brockton Bay seems to be on Siesta. Also, like Ziz, they are on sovereign territory. Not much else we can do at this point. Extradition maybe? I'll talk to State." Marilyn waved vaguely in Taylor's direction. Ziz brought Marquis and Lustrum over and did the fingers to eyes and then to them. Lustrum glared at Marquis, who shrugged a bit helplessly still being gripped by the neck, by an Endbriger.

Emily looked at Taylor, who waved airily, still with her eyes closed "Done. With. Today! Come back tomorrow."

"How are you doing that?" Emily asked. Taylor kept her eyes firmly closed.

Gun Bunny

"Outer Marker Ma'am."

Katherine nodded and ordered "Make turns for thirty knots. Let's try to keep the wailing from the Harbor Master and the Coasties to a minimum. Uber and Leets minions are in the brig still?"

The COB nodded "They aren't parahumans, just paid and got their instructions. They are pissed because when they are out of snitches they don't get paid anymore Ma'am."

Katherine nodded "Maybe they should keep the things back. Or the next crew should. It looked like to me the PRT and Justice department were collaborating on charges. That's if Gun Bunny doesn't shoot them.

"Well, Panacea had a good afternoon with her father. Gun Bunny answered a few request, and talked to Lustrum. Ziz didn't kill us all, logging this one as a success. Good work people. What is that noise?"

The port wing watch answered "Uh, the whole town, state, maybe most of the country, some foreign countries too maybe, lined up at the pier and around the harbor singing ma'am."

"Gangsta Paradise? That has to be the Brocktonians."

The OOD grinned "Bet they get around to Take my Breath Away."

Katherine nodded and shook her head "No bet. How are they all together? Sounds good. It must be Ziz."

Everyone on the bridge rolled their eyes, everything in the world wasn't a Simurgh plot. That had gotten old quickly. The Coast Guard had already confirmed the cigarette boat had been because of casting sand in the engine. That, or poorly controlled compressed graphite iron used casting the block. Which then vibrated apart, leaving a kind of black sand. Further analysis was apparently required. It was Leet building the thing, he wasn't Squealer, and anyone expecting something different was the question. Those guys were lucky to be alive in the brig. Avgas and an exploding engine were not compatible. At least from what she knew.

"Inner marker Ma'am"

"Make turns for twenty knots, then ease down from there, let's at least appear to try to follow the no wake rules. Let's get the doors on the maneuvering jets open. Kiss from a Rose, and they got louder. That first was just the Brocktonians. We are recording this right? They sound really good."

The COB frowned "Gun Bunny not taking us in?"

Katherine pointed out the window. The Truple was standing in the bow with Ziz behind them with her wings spread. The OOD pouted "No fair Ma'am, that's guaranteed Berlin right there."

"Situational awareness OOD."

Gun Bunny

Amy grinned "Gansta Paradise from the homeys. This Kiss from a Rose is really good. I like Seal." She looked at Taylor "You aren't as mad as you pretend."

"Are you doing this Ziz?" Taylor asked.

"Negation" then a much smaller, infinitely more nuanced "Karaoke!"

Taylor opened her mouth and Take My Breath Away started. She closed her mouth and shrugged helplessly. Amy and Rachel wrapped her in a hug and the singing leapt in volume. Ziz's wings went to a single pair and full angelic, also enormous, and fully big enough to let her use them to fly, she was the oddest figurehead ever, Gun Bunny's very much not wooden angle, with the Truple in front of her in a three way hug even more so.

Brockton Bay coasted into Lordsport on momentum and maneuvering thrusters. RIBs full of camera people crowded around the bow of the moving, thirty thousand ton, warship provoking the Harbor Master into a cursing streak which educated the younger people in the crowd. The Police boats and Coast Guard weren't exactly happy either. They were amazed the boats were pushed by, or bumped each other, out of the way. They still arrested the operators. All of them, after corralling the boats, in a fine display of cooperation.

A ray of sun broke through the clouds and landed on the Truple. Taylor snorted. "A bit over the top."

"Theater!"

"You watch way too much TV Ziz. Are you blushing? Fuck me!" Ziz had gone a little pink.

Rachel nodded and grinned "Okay." Taylor blushed a brilliant red, matched by Ziz. They stayed in the bows until the lines were made fast. Ziz keeping everyone away with her wings spread blocking access. One of them, the other was curved around the Truple so you could only get peeks of their legs. Which had commentators on the eleven o'clock news and late shows have three models of the appropriate build posing like the feet and legs were, to both prove and disprove theories. The models had fun and rolled their eyes a lot, the girls were obviously dancing. One set of them threw in some dance type moves. It stopped the whole speculation thing, at least from any reputable source.

Gun Bunny

Mary looked at them as they left the ship on the zeppelin and sighed. Jimmy nodded "I need to talk to Ziz about makeup, Tats needed more concealer, all those freckles, but she has hair down. That was perfect, all of them." Hector and Clive just looked at him, he tsked "Straights, well you better get used to it. Battery Lordsport is tots inclusive. White, brown, gay, asexual, straight, alien, doesn't matter. Just act right."

Mary snorted "Leviathan, Eidolon."

"Some people only learn the hard way. Though they are both green? Vista though, but adorable. Hmmm. Still not a color thing. We will see soon enough. Recce this week, hunting next weekend."

Hector shook his head and looked at his lenses "It's not mirrored but we still fell through it." Clive nodded.


	28. Chapter 28

Gun Bunny 28

Emily looked around the bar of the 'local'. A really upscale downtown bar that tried to be a neighborhood bar and grill a bit too hard maybe, the senior PRT officials, Paul Rennick, had told her about. She raised a brow at Bill Hoel and the Attorney General sitting at the bar. She stepped over to them. Bill Hoel looked at her and smiled "Time for a cocktail."

Emily snorted and looked at the bright eyed, bleached blond, bartender "Whisky sour." She turned to Bill "Several. Though I can't really indulge. Well I could, however it is probably a spectacularly bad idea."

Marilyn shrugged "Gun Bunny has a Mac ten chambered in five hundred S&W. Smallest projectile Bakuda could stuff freeze rounds in. Thing takes thirty round M3A1 magazines, modified of course. You would expect it to be uncontrollable at a thousand rounds a minute but it's not. She is the only one on the planet that can make it go a thousand rounds a minute dismissing and calling full magazines. She can manifest it before you can blink. Panacea is doing her little secret smile thing. Rachel is training the new super beta of the Lordsport pack. The Alpha accepted her after a challenge, both did, so to Rachel that means she needs to be trained. Panacea and Gun Bunny are, in her mind, the undisputed Alphas. Unlike wolves, I think she fully expects all of them will be bred in due course by the Alphas. Like domesticated canines."

The Bartender put the drink down and smiled. "Do you want the antidote? Its a dollar extra."

Emily handed over a card "Every other drink. Keep them coming." She took a long drink, sighed, and turned to Marilyn "I can find no fault with your terrifying analogy."

Bill laughed and nodded at the bartender who started making another set of vodka martinis "Neither can the government, which put them straight into a time out. I prefer to think of it as a military unit but many of the precepts hold. Gun Bunny as the Commander, Panacea as the Deputy, Rachel and Sally as the XO and Operations officer."

Dr Yamada walked up and got a smile from the bartender who started making her a drink after putting the two martinis down. "The wolf pack seems to be more accurate, they are bonded, territorial, and highly aggressive. It doesn't really fit, but it comes closest. Good evening."

Emily looked at her "Not going home?"

Dr Yamada shook her head "And leave when it just go so interesting? No. The PRT is paying for a lovely suite and my husband is coming up with my children. They have even offered him and my children rides for work and school. They seem fairly focused on keeping me here. Especially after sending a squad to pick me up this morning."

"Imagine." Emily asked with an arched brow.

Dr Yamada smiled at Emily at that comment "You are taking this remarkably well."

"Uh, no, I'm really not. I just spent the afternoon watching the Simurgh sunbathe in a bikini. Alcohol seemed required.

"The internal network of the PRT, well, it's in timeout too. I think a server farm caught fire somewhere, first it spat garbage for two hours."

"Which your remarkable performance under extreme stress neatly derailed. I've told the President." Bill raised his glass at her.

Marilyn snorted "His nephew. It was very good work though. If we can keep it up we might all live through this. That soft quarantine with the PRT and Protectorate screening everything in and out and the military running a cordon that could easily be mistaken for a open national border is inspired. Though it does reinforce the State departments bullshit, erh, diplomatic fiction. Now enough business, what is the consensus on the three way relationship?"

As this conversation was warming up, after the chuckles, Colonel Lindstrom, General Sanchez and General Stanley walked in. Their details joined friends, or at least business associates by now, out in their post. Elsbeth Lindt giving Carol a single point slung submachine gun smashing hug making the others smile.

Gun Bunny

Natalie wrapped up the, well, breathless really, eleven o'clock segment tossing it back to a thoughtful looking Lester Holt. When the red light on the camera went out she sagged a bit. Mary nodded "I know right? Tomorrow will be worse, everyone will have heard by then."

Hector laughed "Yak farmers with battery operated TVs have heard. We have a ninety five share on the neilson auto tracker. The web site is getting crushed."

Clive grinned "And our contracts include a fractional percentage."

Gun Bunny

Danny looked over the buffet Lorraine's had sent up. Then he looked at the Simurgh. "Do you eat?"

Ziz tilted her head. Amy led her to the buffet "You can, you have a digestive system. Somehow it is digesting, well, stuff, from somewhere, completely by the way, down to the molecular level, like thing one and thing two. Not all of it is, food, really."

Sarah grabbed her head "Ouch, so since we have these shards, and she is a shard, or a collection of them, they have the knowledge, or know how, to do like anything? So my things are really some alien things things? Wait, what did I just say?"

"Teeth brushing after." Rachel added ignoring Sarah, she had been having an existential crisis all afternoon.

"Still not feeling it." Sally was holding her hands up shoulder high and Lisa was pouting. The ongoing discussion of the Simurgh controlling them was grating.

Taylor sighed and picked up a plate handing one to Ziz, then she went down the line leading the smiling Endbringer and filling her plate.

Rune looked at Chris "And?"

"What?"

"You have been doing a running commentary all day. This, right here, the Simurgh having dinner with us draws nothing?"

"Well, they have to get fuel from somewhere?"

"Are you kidding me?" The others watched the pair as they joined the line. Ziz was paying close attention to the class on male management. That part and the part Vista was running herding the other wards. Well, minus Dean who Vicky obviously had charge of.

Danny thought of something "Aegis, aren't you all off yet? Do I need to call someone? Do you need a ride."

Carlos blinked "Uh, well actually, technically, with an Endbringer on the ground we are in a truce and are the first wave, I'm supposed to call when we need to rotate out. These armbands are transmitting data to Dragon and the thinker cell. In this case as Ziz isn't screaming, our time last until she does?"

"Singing." Ziz said around a drumstick.

"Don't speak with your mouthful Ziz. It's rude. Swallow first."

"Sorry."

"You didn't know."

The others had watched this interaction between Rachel and Ziz like a tennis match. Amanda shook her head "OK, well, school tomorrow."

"Not for me."

Taylors head snapped to Rachel "Why not?" Rachel gave her a look. Taylor shrugged "She is nine, she has to be in school, plus the special education teachers are there now. I think if any ones education is special it will be hers."

"We have them at the middle school too." Missy supplied taking off her visor. The other Wards followed her lead

Danny gaped at them both, all. Carlos nodded "I think I need to call someone now."

Sally held her hands up again "Nope, still nothing."

Lisa frowned "How would you even know?"

"From the fight in Canberra, I could feel her, for the couple of seconds she was singing. I mean really feel it, like with my fingers."

Ziz grinned "Fun! Ratatattatat." She made plane motions with her hands and moved her head in swooping motions. Taylor grinned and nodded after sending the text she was working on.

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at her phone as the aides came in and spoke to their principles. When the aides pulled back Emily smiled "'Done. With. Today. Handle it OPS.' Send." The others at the bar laughed as the Bartender put another whisky sour down with a shot glass full of clear, tasteless, odorless, liquid and took the empty away.

Marilyn nodded "A fine idea, complying with local custom. Let's get a table and order some dinner. General was that the Sao Paulo that came in as we were leaving the Federal building?"

General Sanchez nodded "Ernesto, please. Yes and her group minus the submarines. They will be in tomorrow. You know submariners. They like to 'clear the baffles'."

"Marilyn then, and try to stick a torpedo in our salamander like friend you mean. So, you hope to have her repaired and upgraded?"

Ernesto nodded "Yes, it seems she would be better for the mission that way. We have some engineers and naval architects onboard with a few plans."

Colonel Lindstrom nodded "Out hunting like our two. Hopefully they will surface long enough to send a text. Elsa everyone."

"Bill, CVNs or Leviathan?" Admiral Hoel asked.

Elsa grinned "Well, hunting is hunting." Everyone laughed at Bills glare.

"Natalya." They turned and looked at the speaker.

"Marshal Kuznetzova, its great to see you! Let me introduce you? I must say, good pick. I didn't think they had it in them." bill had sttod up along with both other general officers.

"Ha! Most of them have nothing in them now. Only the ones who are, clean, perhaps are left. Russia was like your Brockton Bay, without Gun Bunny, for years. You are fortunate to have an angel."

The others blinked. Elsa chuckled "Uriel."

Jessica Yamada looked around "Please don't let that comparison get out. The general populace, well, mobs are notoriously not mentally stable."

Marilyn grinned "They hang together pretty good when Ziz is doing Karaoke."

Bill chuckled "The crew recorded that and play it through the loudspeakers at background when the tourist are aboard." Bill introduced Natalya around. Even though she obviously knew who was who already.

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at Taylor after the phone call that had followed the text. "This is actually going to happen? You are enrolling an Endbringer in school? What the hell is happening? And none of you give me that 'its the law' crap parents are going to lose their minds."

Sherrel nodded "Pretty crazy."

Lorraine who had been called in to consult shrugged "Jump reaction, trying to keep the person holding the Simurgh under control happy maybe. Using their original Simurgh attack plans as a base and modifying them on the fly."

Taylor shrugged "She has to take the placement test."

"Done."

Everyone turned to look at Ziz. Lisa rolled her eyes "Pre and post cog tinker. Geniuses you saw all of that, how did she do?"

Taylor shrugged "Great, I bet they make her do it with one of them watching on that kludgey machine though." ZIz rolled her eyes like Lisa. Danny spluttered.

Gun Bunny

"Colin? Are you drinking?"

"It seemed appropriate."

"I'll get Hannah."

Gun Bunny

Paul looked at Rebecca "So we are out on our own recognizance."

Rebecca nodded "If the Simurgh is going to High School as these reports are saying… nope, I have no fucking idea."

Paul snorted "Well come on, let's find David. We need to have a conversation."

"At least."

Gun Bunny

Taylor got up and went to check on Ziz, who was still lying on the bed in the room she had been given with two dogs, exactly like she had been when she lay down on it last night, or early this morning. Eyes closed but you just knew she wasn't sleeping. She eased the door closed missing the smile that bloomed on the Simurgh's face.

Amy looked at her as she climbed back in the bed "Still good then? That silencer is good but you can hear the bolt running."

Taylor folded her in a hug and got a hug as Rachel spooned up behind her. "Another hour, then PT."

Gun Bunny

Jimmy rolled his trolley in "Nice Ziz, good work on the hair. Amy is normally a mess, come on and I will show you makeup. Lisa you are first, did you sleep at all? Those shadows under your eyes!" He tsked and led the parade to an area off to the side of the living room while Hector and Clive set up.

Amy shot him a glare. Taylor chuckled. She grinned when the glare turned on her "I like your hair when you wake up."

Danny pinched the bridge of his nose "Ahem, I found that white paint." At Amy's blank look he added "For that M2."

Amy blinked "Uh I can explain Mr Hebert."

"You can? Nobody else has a clue! Oh, no I was mostly joking. Don't shatter my delusion please."

Mary walked in with Natalie and the shooting schedule. Everyone got busy looking a the massive day that was coming out of that. It being a product of really well educated guess work buy now but still having to many branches and sequels, they cut it down to something manageable based on what they planned to do today. Mary started sending the cleaned up version out to the other embedded teams.

Gun Bunny

The girls pulled up in the Stryker and dismounted. The full parking lot froze and then cheered. Taylor sighed "They're going to-" She face palmed as the band, of all organizations, The band bitches were still a bit freaked, started 'We are the Champions' Natalie grinned and held out her microphone as the camera rolled. TVs everywhere blasted out the Queen anthem, live.

Clive and Hector trotted off into the crowd equipment running. The Band kids broke out instruments.

Ziz. Standing with Rachel behind the stunned Taylor and grinning Amy spread her wings, the full Angelic ones and the sun beamed down on them. The singing got louder. Taylor cut her eyes to Ziz who shook her head "Negative!"

The crowd outside the BBPD and PRT cordon, at the fence on the edge of the school grounds, picked up the song. Taylor stepped forward into the crowd who cleared a path for her into the school. The rest of Battery Lordsport scampered along with her.

Gun Bunny

"You can't find him. The government cant find him. Admittedly they are more interested in containing Brockton Bay and hunting Levithan at the moment, but the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, including the PRT, are beginning to put not inconsiderable resources into the hunt. Other governments as well. Have you checked other places?" Meredith was, by necessity, read in on Cauldron.

"Yes. All our resources, they cant find him either." Rebecca replied.

"Meanwhile, I'm trapped as Rebecca Costa Brown and you are trapped as Alexandria."

Paul shrugged "Not necessarily a bad thing, and you have had the most training of anyone. Let's leave it like that."

"Anyone you trusted with your secrets that is out of the fold? Dismantling and reforming that organization just became priority number two. No three, Four. Goddamnit! Alexandria if I had a weapon you were vulnerable too I would shoot you. I was getting close to retirement!"

Alexandria winced and shrugged "Sorry?"

"Get out. Find him. Help with the fight against Leviathan when it happens." Meredith with a flat cold glare.

Outside the office Paul looked at Rebecca "She has never liked that part of the job."

Rebecca shot him a glare "Amazing she takes to it so well then. Come on, lets check more of the places on the list, see if we can get ahead of him rather than behind. This spree he is on isn't helping."

Paul shrugged "He hasn't gotten any cats out of trees?"

"I will hurt you."

Gin Bunny

Carlos sat next to Taylor "So, this is actually happening."

Taylor shrugged "Just roll with it. I do. Occasionally shoot people. Less now than before, so its getting better?"

Carlos chuckled and sang "Mad World."

"Oh no, they have infected you! You'll be in MS screening!" Taylor gave him a mild glare.

"Like we all aren't already."

Vicky nodded "They got the independents in on it. Well the ones we use. They seem a bit shocked they aren't finding anything. There is one, port of Entry into Brockton Bay now, they are running it like a Simurgh quarantine zone. They have these thinkers that can check people to see if they are Simurgh bombs, They brought them in."

"Fixed!" Ziz supplied.

Lisa blinked "All of them?"

"Everywhere."

Taylor leaned over and hugged her "Thanks. You know, we may have to do something about Eidolon."

"Two."

Taylor leaned back "Yes Ziz, your brother first. So this is like some kind of macho challenge with him?"

"Boy!" the guys in the cafeteria flinched and pulled their heads down into their shoulders.

Lisa sighed "We have to do something about Disney as well."

"No!" that one contained a sort of high light reel of Ziz's favorite shows.

Lisa smiled at her "Ziz honey, it doesn't really go like that in the real world. I'm not sure even you can make it that way. Nobody in those shows gets really hurt, and it all comes out in the end of every thirty minute episode. Gun Bunny didnt have to show up with a MG 134 in any Disney episode. She did everyday here, for months. She made an S tank in Brazil, people died."

"One is sorry, fixing!"

Dean sat up straighter "One, Behemoth, Behemoth is sorry and is fixing what he has done?"

"Purpose."

Lisa stood up "Going to melt that seat. The purpose of the conflict engines is to set the conditions so people trigger, they need people to trigger so they are supposed to make the environment conducive to producing people. They aren't war engines they are people ranchers. Sapient ranchers as they have done it with non human species. Oh boy."

Amy chuckled ruefully "So capes are a symbiotic organism of a sapient and this shard thing, a piece of alien software, firmware? Oh man, some of those theories ont he tin hat forums were real."

Taylor pinched the bridge of her nose "I think I need to talk to General Stanley about a junky."

Carlos nodded "And the Kingsmen. I'll talk to Armsmaster. He might have some contacts."

Taylor nodded. Sally asked "Taylor what are we doing?"

"Oh now you want the existential answer? The same thing we have been, I'm still sixteen. I dont saolve the worlds problems, just the ones I can reach with direct or indirect fire."

Ziz smirked. Everyone turned to her as the image of whole countries getting wiped off the map by orbital bombardment an through their minds "Sister."

"Oh fuck me."

Rachels "Later, too public." made Taylor, and Amy, blush furiously and the others stare, then laugh. Justine face palmed.

Taylor held up a finger to Ziz, "Do not do some kind of telekinetic wall, you are too young." Ziz arched a brow at her.

Rune clapped "Nice." Chris grabbed her hand and dragged her away. Ziz took notes.


	29. Chapter 29

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked at Ziz. She beamed at her "Fixed! Fly?" It was the afternoon of a slightly blustery day. The sun was out though. The Truple plus one were standing on the peir between the CSN Brockton Bay and USS Cassin Young looking out at a harbor, and beyond the harbor, a bay full of ships. Warships.

Amy snorted. Rachel petted Ziz. Taylor looked around and saw the originals tied up to the piers and the duplicates out in the bay, in the Fletcher's cases multiple duplicates. Apparently Ziz liked Fletcher's. She chuckled "OK, we can fly. We should probably warn the PRT and Protectorate."

Carlos, from his position back a few paces, held up a finger, a Hispanic first chair violinist from the band, or orchestra section of the school band, had his arm captive "I'll get it."

Lisa nodded "Clear it with the CIC as well. Ziz are you going as you or are you going to-" she trailed off as an SU 25 floated, or levitated, up out of the harbor.

"There is no try."

"Lucas films are out too then." Lisa glared.

Ziz pouted, then smiled as Taylor hugged her "Its fine Ziz, you did good. Uh, is the Marshal going to hand me a bill for the plane?" Taylor had met the Marshal yesterday evening, briefly. Accepting her letter of appointment, and getting her cheek pinched. The Marshal was kind of a grandmother type. At least to her. She got the impression from Admiral Hoel she was also deadly.

"Made it!"

Taylor nodded while digesting the whole process contained in those two words, including getting the necessary elements from seawater. The same process that made the Fletchers, or the boats that looked like Fletchers. For one thing the guns were five fifty four twins. All five turrets, and where the twenty millimeters would have been were bushmasters in remote controlled mark thirty eight mounts? Hmm those were sexy. and thirty millimeter too. MmmHmm.

Amy rolled her eyes and poked Taylor. She was getting a little drooly over the gun boats.

Talor jerked and moved on. For another thing the engines were her cogen gas turbine plants downsisized, only sixty thousand horsepower apiece, feeding a gearbox? Huh, oh! If one was disabled the other could run the boat, with her sharkskin hull plating design, at forty five knots. Though disabling one was going to take some effort, as while the plating was only upped to an inch everywhere, it was her own alloy, the weight saved from removing the old boilers being used by the plating, so they still clocked in at twenty one hundred tons or so.

No pump jets though, just some really odd propellers, oh! Taken from a Los Angeles class design and improved, even less chance of cavitation over a broader range of speed. Well, that worked. Wait, how did Ziz get access to that design? It was the last before the Navy switched to what were essentially pump jets on the submarines. And classified still? Taylor sighed. She didn't really want the answer to that did she? Though physics was physics? Mostly. "Okay, let's get this show on the road."

Moments later there was a mad scramble among press people for boats fast enough to keep up as the Brockton Bay, with the Frogfoot and Warthog on the fantail, cast off lines and docking connections for steam, electricity, and water, but allowed the tourist, as many as semi reasonably fit, to stay aboard. The ones who weren't watching a Fletcher and a South Dakota class be brought alongside the pier anyway. Small boats were running crews out to PT boats that were anchored out.

It was a bit of a wait as every small boat in the bay had been pressed into service. Some not so small, those SoDaks had pretty big whale boats, forty footers, and multiples of them, every boat that got a party aboard got a boat in the water first thing. The Harbor master himself had had to take flags and go out on his widow's walk to keep an eye on things in what was becoming the busiest navy base in the US.

It was also the fullest. Apparently Brockton Bay needed twelve escort destroyers. Sao Palo had a ring of twelve as well. So did the SoDaks. All the destroyers with twenty six foot motor whalers. Where all the drivers were coming from was the question.

The news people were taking the massively over powered RIBs that were his normal problem children.

The first PT roared to life with a whining hiss and the Harbor master sighed. His dad had told him stories about those crazy PT boat bastards. Plus all those war stories he heard in the bar over the last couple of nights. And now they were GB Specials. With torpedoes and freaking cannons all over them. Probably do a hundred knots.

Brockton Bay getting underway drug twelve destroyers and twelve PT boats out of the harbor and his way though so it was all good. Now to bring some order to this tadpole filled pool. He started sounding the horn and using the flags.

Gun Bunny

Joey, Willy, and the crew of rainbow shirts, including the adults, were studying manuals, and looking over tool sets that had appeared, with the help of a several of emigres of an older generation. One of the tourist was an Airforce Master Chief retired who was looking at the Warthog "A tail hook? What the heck for, doesn't GB just dismiss them?" Willy pointed to the Sao Paulo, whose deck held a flight of A 10's "Huh. Well, there was a naval version in development early on. At least on paper, for the Marines. The front gear had to be changed." He looked "Yep like that. Stronger see. Plus it had that hook thing for the little catapult sled thing."

Another tourist nodded "Those had a bridle too though. And the shuttle goes against the back of the front axle, the reason the gear and airframe had to be strengthened. Different stress points. The hook is for tugs on the flight deck. They never got to folding wings, though we did shoot five A10s on land at Pax River about a million times. The only cat and arrestor wire qualified Airedales. Wonder what happened to those guys?"

Gun Bunny

Katherine watched as the destroyers took up stations at each clock position then maintained it perfectly, five nautical miles from the Brockton Bay. The PT boats were in a ring at two and a half nautical miles and at the half hour positions. She frowned "OOD find out how fast those PT boats and Destroyers are. Helm maintain twenty knots for now."

The OOD questioned his life choices, the ones that led him to having to go talk to the Simurgh anyway.

Gun Bunny

Marquis stood on the wing of the bridge with Amy. Lustrum stood a little way off. Miss Militia was with her. "So your friend flies as well."

Amy arched a brow "Girlfriend Daddy. I think you better get used to the idea."

"Gun Bunny has hundreds of bodies on her Amelia, perhaps more than got me sent to the Birdcage."

"One hundred and seventeen. Rapist, murders, cop killers, parahuman gang leaders, and their soldiers, who practiced murder, rape and addicting people to drugs. Allegedly in some cases, and so far all self-defense or defense of others.

"She shut down brothels full of trafficked people and stopped the practice in her, demesnes, let's be honest about it, the government had basically stopped functioning in a law and order sense. The PRT was maintaining the status quo, we don't know why.

"You should be proud, I found a significant other very much like my father. You were law and order here in your day, people still don't start shit on the busses, did you know? Ten years on from you being put in the Birdcage. Now Taylor is law and order here, the Queen of all she surveys."

Lustrum nodded "And she surveys so very much." Amy smirked.

Marquis frowned. "Beg pardon?"

"Every weapon or weapon system she has worked on, for some unknown range around it she is aware of what is going on. If she wants, in great detail."

Amy nodded "The range the weapon can effect, or could possibly effect, bit hard to tell, makes Lisa's butt hot."

Lustrum grinned "Well, she is a teen." She and Amy snickered while Marquis rolled his eyes.

When they had settled Marquis asked "And you?"

Amy shrugged "Queen of all I survey as well. You just won't know what killed you when I do it. The more intelligent people have realized it. Hence the PRT never being too far away and our psychologist being subsidized. Bio Tinker, highest rated one ever. I'll fix Jamie's little red wagon soon. As soon as Taylor is through playing with Leviathan."

Lustrum arched a brow "Playing?"

"She can call down orbital bombardments. She doesn't have to use small projectiles. She hits what she aims at. She isn't afraid of killing things that need to be dead. Why do you think the Simurgh is up there with her? The ultimate Disney younger sister, trying to save her brother." Amy asked her. Miss Militia blinked.

Marquis nodded, then continued thoughtfully "And Hellhound, that seems a bit complicated."

Amy glared at him "Says my father, who was never married to my mother."

Lustrum laughed loudly at Marquis obviously chagrinned face.

Gun Bunny

Bill looked out of his raised swivel seat in the middle of the admirals bridge. "Well it's a tie, but Ziz is cheating outrageously, no way that Frogfoot can jump straight up like that."

His Captain aide, an aviator, nodded "GB has her now though, That little aileron roll and-" He was interrupted by the BRRRRRRRRRT.

Bill shook his head "That's the whole defense budget in Frogfoots and A10s. Next years in those target drones the Fletchers and PTs are blowing the crap out of, I don't even want to know where those IJN Cruisers and destroyers came from. Damn shame they got sunk like that." He watched as Taylor buzzed the ship and Ziz floated her healing, yes that was the only word for it, healing SU 25 down to the fantail.

His Chief of Staff nodded "This ship proved her purpose though. She eats cruisers. Even those heavy ones. Always thought we missed a bet not taking A10's, Gun Bunny and thousand pound bombs just proved it. Didn't think Frogfoots would be that effective against ships."

Rune lifted off with the platform in cargo mode and Taylor landed on it, then Rune landed it in its rack. Bill nodded "Neat method they developed on the fly."

They watched Rachel walk up to Taylor and Ziz stand respectfully back a couple steps. Amy was still out on the bridge wing but the two were looking up at her and she was smiling and waving. Ziz was taking in the whole scene with a wistful expression.

The Captain nodded after shuddering a bit "That would save us millions in development cost. Maybe we can get Rune to make some babies for us?"

Bill laughed "Only after Gun Bunny has a few to keep the little things in line. And what if hers join the Army to be tankers?"

Colonel Lindstrom nodded "Yah, could be so."

"Marines have tanks."

Bill chuckled as the two O6's extolled the virtues of their services. Generals Sanchez and Stanley joined him.

Gun Bunny

Danny arched a brow as Sherrel lay on his desk in a classic pin up pose, and about as little clothes as a barely acceptable for the public pinup. Sherrel huffed "Come on, spill. Something has you pent up. Want to spank me?"

Danny flushed at Barbara's snort in the outer office. "There is no way to answer that I'm not in trouble. Just worried, the other shoe has to drop soon. I mean, The Simurgh went to Arcadia."

Lacey walked in grinning, with Mary "Oh it did. Immaculata and Clarendon filed lawsuits that Ziz didn't get to look at their schools."

Danny meant to lay his head on the desk. Sherrel hugged his head when it landed on her middle. They barely heard "Something is wrong with this town."

Lacey cackled "You just now noticed? Man, talk about pie in the sky optimism!"

"Hey, leave my man alone." Danny thrashed a bit as Sherrel pulled his face into her cleavage.

Barbara, who had come in and leaned on a five drawer file cabinet laughed outright "Take your man home and molest him. Gives me ideas watching you two. Or to that den of iniquity you keep over there. Oh hey, I hear Lorraine's is running a surf and turf?"

Danny stopped struggling and smirked, then went to work as Sherrel tried to talk intelligently. He figured he won when she drug him out headed toward the Battery.

Lacey looked at Barbara "Well that worked."

Mary arched a brow "And now? What are you two planning?"

The simultaneous "Goddaughters!" Broke them all up laughing.

Gun Bunny

"Door to within five miles of David." Rebecca and Paul blinked then charged in when the door opened. They found themselves in a sun blasted landscape, with two tiny moons overhead. After a short spiral search pattern in opposite directions they found themselves standing over a prone David. Who had seen better days really. Paul snorted "No wonder we couldn't find you."

Rebecca leaned over and felt David's pulse "Out cold. Come on, let's get him to Cauldron."

Gun Bunny

Meredith looked at David disgustedly "Used all his power, powers, fixing everything he could until he was totally exhausted. Now he is catatonic, or in a coma, and may or may not recover. Goddamnit Rebecca, I swear to fucking Christ."

Paul sighed "It gives us time, we can start with having found him and that we are talking to him about turning himself in."

"And when the prick doesn't wake up?"

Rebecca shrugged "A power conflict when he was in the throes of depression and trying to fix everything once he found out he was the one who called the Endbringers. That has the benefit of being apparently true."

"Powered suicide? Hmmm. That has actually been documented. You two will still have leashes though."

Paul nodded "Maybe we actually need them."

"Fine, and when he does wake up, and wants to fight?"

Rebecca shrugged "We get off our leashes bringing him in, or Gun Bunny will fix it. She is a bit busy now and has put it aside, she hasn't forgotten."

Gun Bunny

Carol looked at the girls and shrugged helplessly as Sarah laughed "So you three are staying here, all the girls are, because 'Danny and Sherrel are making babies loudly.' How are you this, this, haven't you, well…" They were at the Hebert's house.

Sarah laughed and rescued her sister and the blushing girls "We thought your relationship had progressed farther than it apparently has."

Vicky snorted "Told you Mom. It's like watching molasses run up hill in January."

Carol turned her head to Vicky who blanched "You just mind your own business Victoria. It must be difficult dealing with three people in a relationship. They can take all the time they need." That started the inquest on Vicky.

Amy leaned her head over in one of the truples three way forehead touches "We will have to thank her."

Rachel nodded "Talk to Ziz, she is scared."

Taylor nodded "Amy get Carol, Rachel and I will get Ziz."

Gun Bunny

Sarah looked at Carol over the glass of red wine they both had in the living room of the Hebert's house, a house full of Battery Lordsport. Lorraine had sent a van over with food and drink. "Unexpected."

"Ha! For you and me. It all suddenly came to me yesterday."

"So that's why you went to get checked by the thinkers."

"Yes. I did manage to tell Amy I was proud of her. Those three! Up there in that queen bed like it's a slumber party!"

"Hey, after what you told Vicky?"

"Sex is an important part of a relationship." Sarah goggled at her sister. Mark and Neil, wisely, remained silent.

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at the three smiling widely and Ziz blushing at breakfast in the Battery the next morning "So my white paint…."

Taylor gave him a glare, then a smile "Not yet but closer?"

Sherrel sighed and sat in Danny's lap, then brightened "So more examples then!" Danny closed his eyes. He seemed to be praying, or maybe suppressing a groan. Sherrel had not sat gently.

Jimmy walked in and looked around then nodded "So a more mature look then." He narrowed his eyes then tsked "Only a bit though. Ziz, honey, that blush works fabulous on you. We can work with this." Ziz gave a wide eyed blink. "We will have to introduce you to Weld, he is metal, and you are, whatever that is." Rachel growled and Ziz hid behind her. As much as a six foot five venus in a sports bra and yoga shorts could hide behind a stocky five ten girl in the same outfit. Jimmy rolled his eyes. "To soon then." Ziz tilted her head thoughtfully.

Gun Bunny

In Boston Weld jerked alert from his position relaxed in his chair listening to some tunes. He shuddered as a feeling he had never had, that he remembered, ran down his back.

Gun Bunny

One looked at the data stream and added "Amused" to it.

Gun Bunny

Two looked around as he felt something, he just couldn't quite understand what "Data?"

Gun Bunny

The Stryker pulled up in the parking lot and the girls got out. A guitar, amplified, struck a cord and the rest of the band, or in this case one hundred and eighty four piece orchestra, crashed in on a version of Pink's get the party started. The glee club provided slightly changed lyrics. Taylor sighed, Ziz danced, a sort of rude modern kind of dance, down the aisle the students opened in the middle of the crowd. Taylor shrugged and joined her. Amy stood watching with the rest of the girls until Rachel joined in. Then she rushed to catch up. The others followed laughing.

Natalie smiled at the camera "And we are in and underway on another wild day in Brockton Bay! Good Morning America! Back to you Lester!" She danced off, pretty well and actually a fairly hot dance, Hector panned with her and then back to the dancing Simurgh.

Lester smiled tightly "I'm sure our competitor appreciates the plug. And now in the latest news from Washington..." Lester had had a tough couple of weeks. They were following Brockton Bay like it was a natural disaster, or an Endbringer attack, and had been for what seemed like months, could it really only have been a few weeks?

Gun Bunny

Canary watched from the Protectorate line around the school singing under her breath and shaking her hips a bit. Purity watched her. Miss Militia watched them all.


	30. Chapter 30

Gun Bunny 30

"So mom thinks sex equals penetration?"

"I think so, ultimate straight. We don't have to do that at all, I can get all of us pregnant with a touch, we will eventually get to it but…." Amy shrugged.

Vicky grinned "So you were having sex with mom standing right there."

Amy blushed gently then grinned "Running a train on Taylor."

Crystal face palmed "Oh my gawd! Lewd!"

"Shhh! I finally got her talking. So Ame's, more, details sis!"

Amy arched a brow at her "I know you aren't a virgin, use your imagination."

Vicky pouted "I'm like mom, I guess, I can't even."

Crystal snorted "I know about a hundred girls who would cure that for you, for me too, though I can actually imagine."

Vicky nodded "Jennifer, your girlfriend, how is she?"

Crystal smiled "She, and we, are fine now. We had to grow past our breakup. I mean I got over her suddenly finding a boy but she felt guilty about it, or something. She's married now." She looked at Vicky's lascivious grin "And not into sharing at all, plus eww! I have no idea what she see's in Jeff. I like boys too, just not that one."

She looked at Amy "So you know people pay up to hundreds of thousands of dollars to get pregnant? You putting yourself out of business with viruses doesn't have to be the end of your money."

Amy shrugged "I didn't, but the admin staff Danny got me and the Lady Merchants did. Plus wild viruses and cancers mutate all the time, mine don't, so I won't ever really be able to put myself out of that business. Which is good I guess, between the GMO idiots and the anti vax luddites suing me constantly."

"But GMO is bad?" Crystal frowned.

Amy nodded "Could be, but pick a food, it's all genetically modified, by selective breeding if nothing else, only the open pollinated stuff isn't. Well, isn't done by humans, it still modifies itself. Tomatoes were modified to look good in stores and be harvested by machines, and that's just the latest modification. The originals were sweet little lopsided mostly green balls. People have been selectively breeding them since they discovered they could eat them, wheat, rye, corn, all of that, grafting fruit trees, nectarines, animals are selectively bred. Mules are crosses between horses and donkeys for goodness sake.

"Luddites just don't like skipping the stages. Maybe because they aren't well educated enough to realize geneticist know what the genes do and which combinations are liable to be successful.

"The results of the modification are tested before release."

"Seed companies and farmers bitch because they don't want their high dollar GMO free crops cross fertilized by the neighbors GMO high production crops." Amy shrugged.

Vicky blinked "Blah, blah, blah, science. Whatever. Ziz is in your bedroom all the time! What does she think about her moms doing it." She waggled her eyebrows.

"Aunts at best, sister's maybe. And you should ask her. She doesn't get embarrassed though, not until someone from outside us four says something, like with Danny the other day. Taylor is the one who gets embarrassed. Really the reason we are still going slow, well me too, but not because of sex, at least me, sex is sex, I like slow when its serious." Amy sighed "No I don't, but you know what I mean?"

Crystal laughed and looked sympathetically at Amy. She continued her cool down stretches watching Taylor and Rachel on the mat with Ziz, it was a combatives day. Ziz seemed to be enjoying it. It was a bit like trying to get a rear naked choke or arm bar on a statue when you went a round with her. Crystal looked up as a P3 Orion roared overhead. The Navy was using the Air National Guard base/local airport to stage their search operations out of. "It keeps Mom and Aunt Carol off your back, another month and it won't matter. Though from what Carol says no prosecutor would even bother anyway, even if you weren't a parahuman, as long as there is consent. Gun Bunny blowing the shit out of anyone who tries to interrupt you three besides Danny would indicate consent I think."

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at Sherrel for a moment then stepped around the glass panel and into the spray of the shower heads with her. He took the poof thing and gently scrubbed her back. Once he got her to stop leaning back into him. "Tough PT?"

"Ha! Your granddaughter took on all comers. No technique at all, totally invulnerable. Well, no technique when we started."

Danny started his hand moving again from where he had frozen for a moment. "Please don't do that. She is like a cousin at best."

"Sure Danny, I'll keep your dreamworld intact. Adopted granddaughter." Danny sighed. Sherrel smirked "Plus that full contact session we had before PT."

Danny rolled his eyes, apparently he was to be habituated to something. He should probably ask Taylor what they were doing. "We ran this morning, combatives tomorrow for the men."

Sherrel nodded "Yep, got it blocked out, give you a massage after to get you back in shape to work."

"Hey! Those guys are twenty years younger than me and parahumans, some of them." Sherrel smiled and moved his hands around to where she wanted them. They needed to get a move on. The girls would be out of the shower soon and Danny liked to have breakfast at least started for them.

Gun Bunny

Mary looked at Natalie "You OK?"

"Oh sure. Amy fixed me up. Just a little tired."

Mary nodded "Eleven O'clock news, yeah, we are going to have to drop that one or you are going to have to start napping. Especially if you are still tired after Amy tuned you up. I would say while the girls are in school. We have enough crews too run around and do all these little stories. Share the wealth and the others will be happier anyway. Plus there is some talent in those teams. That team of Johns is really good. Six is the big show anyway, thirty minutes of the hour. More Anchor, less field reporter."

Natalie nodded "Buffy, what the hell kind of name is that for a serious reporter? I thought she was going to be a total bimbo. She is damn sharp."

"Yale, journalism, no joke Babe. I agree about the name though. We can put them on the eleven O'clock. She will love you forever." She blinked and then narrowed her eyes at Natalies blush "OK, spill."

Jill, the researcher, or lead research specialist, chuckled "One of the Swedish Tankers. The Platoon Sergeant. That big brunette."

Mary blinked "I thought he was with the Platoon leader?"

"His first cousin if you can believe it, lived in the same village, him enlisted, her an officer candidate, she is much younger than him. He is getting pretty old for an army guy, ready to retire, She has like five years in, pretty senior for a platoon leader, she'll get promoted out of that job soon I bet. So hot, about to be at lose ends, and unattached." The both looked at the now really blushing Natalie.

She huffed at them "My personal life is not the story."

Mary snorted "It will be. Those TMZ stringers are still running around, and since the bitch twins got snide about Taylor the other day Justine shut them all out."

Jimmy pulled his cart in the dressing room "And she should have. Straight girls don't get to cast shade."

Jill frowned "Straight?"

Jimmy nodded stepping up behind Natalie and looking at her in the mirror "BBC, Bitter Bitches Club. Natalie! Child you have to get more sleep. You look better natural. These circles are going to take a lot of base." Natalie sighed, Jimmy smiled "Or I can get Sven to relax you."

"George."

"Well since you haven't introduced us…." Jimmy left it hanging as Natalie pouted. The others looked at each other grinning.

Gun Bunny

Lustrum stretched and then rose. She padded to the kitchen in the efficiency apartment she had been given by the PRT. The cameras followed her movement. She smiled. Another day, another convert watching the cameras as she went about her morning routine in the clothes god gave her. She wondered if it was another female. The last one had been a male. Bit of a surprise when she had seen him. Though a lot of males now were very much more aware of the rights of women. It seemed that those particular issues had gotten much better in the last ten years.

She would have to research this equal pay issue today. She had gotten up to speed on the world wide web after all. Lacey would help her out some more if she asked.

In his apartment next door Marquis contemplated things as he finished breakfast. They needed to broach the subject of the Faery Queens visit soon. Should they wait until after Leviathan?"

Gun Bunny

Weld opened the pm from Winged One. He read it and blinked. Did a PHO member just ask for a in person meeting? Wait, what the hell was this tag (Verified Endbringer) This had to be a joke right?

Gun Bunny

Lisa looked at her phone at the breakfast table. She blinked and leaned over, Justine leaned in with her "Ziz, did you ask Weld out?"

The table stilled, Ziz replied "Data" the concepts included her PHO stalking Weld and liking what she saw.

Justine showed Lisa the SOS pm she had gotten. Lisa nodded "Yeah, so he sent it to TheGirlintheKnow and AllSeeingEye. OK you scared him Ziz, or that verified Endbringer tag did. We can fix this honey."

Taylor frowned "Wait a minute. Give us the summary on Weld Lisa." Amy and Rachel nodded. The discussion got under way immediately.

Sherrel looked at Danny and grinned. He sighed.

Gun Bunny

One added "Amused" to the data stream as Two reviewed all the scenario training. He was noting all the things brothers did to potential suitors of sisters, not what happened to those brothers after they did those things. He was moving to the next training as soon as the first result was shown. This was going to be very amusing when Three reacted. He would wish he was just in the confined space Threes mentor was devising. At least then Three wouldn't be able to hit him any more, if the end of these scenarios was correct. He added 'Interesting" to the data stream as well.

One turned back to the currents in the fluids of the core. He would need to send a warning soon. How much time would the host species need to evacuate the western coast of that landmass, all of those islands and the east coast of that landmass? These bodies of water were making his job difficult. Two would need to be paying attention. He added his estimates to the stream "Data". Perhaps that would ameliorate Threes response. Two didn't really need his form but it did make transportation easier.

Gun Bunny

Lucy studied Ziz at lunch "Where do your wings go?" Ziz's current wings covered her back like one of those trashy tattoos on a music video stripper, though she made that look like the strippers hoped it would look. The shirt she wore was thin enough you could see the outline of them, plus the slits they went through when she unfolded them let you have glimpses. The boys acted like it was cleavage or sidebboob. If they caught a glimpse they blushed or grinned.

Ziz looked up at Lucy and the math flowed into everyone's head. Taylor shook hers when she recovered "Holy crap." She looked around at the four students who had feinted. "Uh, did that trigger those guys?"

"One."

They all looked to the table the contents of that had contained and Taylor sighed. Ziz shrugged sheepishly "Sorry."

Lisa pinched the bridge of her nose "A shaker, ten, that uses math?" How the hell is that going to work?"

Amanda shrugged "Hopefully not Trinity like."

Rachel nodded "No letting her and Bakuda in a lab together."

Sally nodded "I'll talk to Sarah. Probably ought to keep Janelle away from Armsmaster too. She was already a math nut, president of the math club."

"There's a math club? Well, come on Amy, let's go check them." Taylor rose and pulled Amy up, of course Rachel and ZIz stood up as well. The scrambling in the cafeteria froze. Taylor snorted.

Gun Bunny

Emily glared at the screen "Apparently it was completely unintentional. The Wards were present. Panacea checked everyone who was affected. Polymath has already joined the Battery. We will need to work on the Wards recruiting skills."

Alexandria nodded "Add more females to the team as well. That seemed to be the real problem, the Wards attending Arcadia are all males, Clockblocker made the most progress with Polymath of any of the Wards. Janelle Johnson told me she would consider the wards if there were more females on the team. She, thinks having females who are parahumans around her as she 'figures this shit out' will be better."

Meredith nodded "Girls are smarter than boys." Legend arched a brow. Meredith added "at that age."

Emily added "And most others." Legend sighed.

Gun Bunny

Janelle sat in the CIC of the Brockton Bay with Lisa, Lucy and Amanda. Amy was down in the Sick Bay. Taylor and Ziz, the Simurgh, her team mate the Endbringer, were out flying, Rachel was out with the dogs and talking to the kids in the colored shirts that were running around. Lisa poked her. "Sorry what? This, Oh, OK. so if we ran this pattern it would be more efficient."

Lisa watched as Janelle typed and the pattern displayed in the animation changed. "Wow. OK my power likes that, you took out some of the capabilities overlaps though."

Janelle nodded "Until we know what capabilities can detect him best I think this is the way to go. We know passive sonar works. Once we get contact we can do a pass with all the other type sensors and figure out what works and what doesn't."

Lisa nodded "So this is really the design of experiment."

Lucy chuckled "Speaking of experiment, is that what that four by twelve whiteboard full of calculations you did in Sarah's lab one?"

Janelle smiled mischievously "If she can make it work I think her black hole bomb can be a portal, short duration. Universal range though."

Amanda shook her head "And we were worried about you meeting her. What the fuck?"

"Smartest person in the room my butt." Janelle huffed. "When she figures out she doesn't know how to aim I'll give her a coordinate system." They all blinked at her then chuckled.

Gun Bunny

Marquis looked at Lustrum "We have to tell them."

Lustrum shrugged "Danny first I think, She won't be coming until after Leviathan is dealt with. Besides we already told them once. Plus we have those clarification interviews everyday. I'm fairly sure Ciarra and all her fairies can't take them." She looked at Marquis "Especially with you ready to stick a bone spear in her as soon as she tries your daughters girlfriend. What a difference a few days make, ten years ago you wouldn't even have thought of killing a girl." She grinned at him.

Marquis sighed "They love each other."

Lustrum nodded "And have an Endbringer who thinks that is grand. I don't think Ciarra will be able to make them subordinate queens like we think she wants too."

"She could hurt Rachel."

Lustrum chuckled darkly "Not and live. Ciarra isn't stupid, she will see what is what quickly. Change of subject, what are your lawyers telling you?"

Marquis sighed "That with Eidolon being responsible for the Endbringers I might get off with time served."

Lustrum nodded "Or at least be out of the Birdcage. Yes, that's what I am hearing too. Of course you aren't going to be able to kill Kaiser."

Marquis nodded "Or any of these other fucks that need it. I think I can follow the Lady merchant model though. I do have some assets, they need to be grown for Amelia to have later anyway."

"I think she would much rather have her father now."

"I'm doing that as much as I am allowed."

Lustrum grinned "Which is more everyday. Back to the sick bay you go Marquis."

Marquis nodded and walked away. Sherrel walked around the corner of the bridge wing. Lustrum looked at her "Aren't you supposed to making sisters somewhere?"

Sherrel grinned "Break. Danny needed a nap."

"So he fought you off enough to get some, telework, in."

Sherrel shrugged "Either or, makes him happy. Plus he does have a regular job."

Lustrum nodded "He has always been a man of strong convictions."

The two looked out across the ocean with the sun dipping low in the sky.


	31. Chapter 31

Gun Bunny 31

Lustrum looked out at the fantail and sipped her tea "Amy is going to have to treat coronaries. All these sailors and they are out there on the fantail doing downward dogs at dawn."

Danny chuckled "They do like their exercise, you should join them."

"You have a girlfriend."

"You haven't changed. Still wandering around your house, or your stateroom, naked in the mornings?"

"Like that ever bothered you, first Annette, and now Sherrel. I must admit you have good taste."

Danny chuckled "Good luck is what I have."

Marquis stepped out of the secondary conning station in the fire control tower, one of Taylors at sea cabins, the one she was using on this hunting expedition, was one level up. This had become the place where everyone gathered. "Yes you do, and a remarkable daughter, I'm sad I never got to meet Annette in those times we met. An oversight on my part."

Lustrum arched a brow "You two knew each other?"

Danny shrugged "Professionally. Marquis used union labor where he could."

Marquis nodded "Speaking of which, I have some moneys and properties I am going to need to put to work. Amelia will need a source of income."

Danny chuckled "She has a source of income now and is independently wealthy."

"Still, I feel I should secure her future." Marquis took a mug from the stray the steward brought out. Danny exchanged his empty for a full and Lustrum found a full mug of tea.

"Legally." Danny arched a brow.

Marquis nodded "The lawyers are very careful of that, the money and real properties have legal provenance. Completely auditable."

"If we live through finding this gecko." Lustrum nodded. Danny looked pointedly at Ziz in Warrior three. "Yes, well there is that."

Marquis chuckled "So this is what the girls do on the weekends?"

"Uh no. Normally they sunbathe, don't ask me how, it is still early in the year, You would think they would freeze. Somebody's powers I guess. Or a combination of them the thinkers dreamed up. When they aren't fishing with depth charges, but that is new, Since they got the Fletchers anyway.

Gun Bunny

Emily sat over watching the operations room with its link to the CIC in Brockton Bay. This wasn't the first time anyone had hunted an Endbringer, the other times hadn't gone well. Of course most of the thinkers in the world hadn't evaluated the results of those hunts for lessons learned, they hadn't had Gun Bunny, Or Battery Lordsport, last but not least an Endbringer helping them. She was going to have to back off on the coffee, they were only half a day in. Surely- "Contact!" Emily sighed and looked to the board where the potential contact was plotted and watched in real time as search assets closed.

Gun Bunny

On the Brockton Bay Taylor took the control chair "General Quarters! Surface Action!" blared from squawk boxes and speakers all over the ship as the turbine noise picked up from a low whine to out of the range of human hearing. Katherine looked around at the Fletchers belching black smoke and kicking huge rooster tails. "That contact is at two hundred seventy miles."

Taylor nodded "We'll get a little closer and build the back of the containment. The Fletchers can only do about a hundred twenty knots before they get a little squirrelly. We have to work on that hull form Ziz."

"Planing."

"You think? Can you take one of the ones on the bay picket and test that from here?"

Lisa down in the CIC looked at Polymath "So your show now, figure out which sensors work best."

Gun Bunny

Armsmaster watched as one of the Fletchers on picket broke from its patrol and headed out to sea, fast. "Dragon?"

"Ziz says they can come up on plane. She's testing. They demonstrate some remarkable instability in a band above a hundred and twenty knots."

Armsmater nodded "Not an aerodynamic shape."

Gun Bunny

Weld stood in the ready facility in Boston watching the monitors. He then turned to his team "OK, once they get a good track and establish the containment we can stand down, if they don't get him contained, the Protectorate and PRT will vector into where his predicted landfall is and we will be in a support roll."

Roulette chuckled, standing with a weapon as tall as she was "And I get to try out my Gun Bunny special and Bakuda ammo."

Flechette hefted her arbalest "Squealer worked Naomi over, Bakuda gave me some bolts too."

Weld nodded "If you get a shot, of course take it. Bastion wants us in support here though and if he goes somewhere else we will be moved there by Strider. Support will let us get a handle on what's going on before we act."

"Leviathan sighted X 73." The armbands they had all been issued announced.

Their eyes snapped to the screen. Hunch shook his head "Why the hell is he popping up now?" Suddenly a geyser of water erupted near him, then three more. "Ah, torpedoes."

One of the other New York Wards who had come with Lilly pointed "P3, its on a run, they have torpedoes and depth charges too. Those four were from a sub I think."

Gun Bunny

Taylor punched a button on one of her joy sticks and a bell rang, five seconds later the main guns fired. eight seconds later the bell rang and the guns immediately fired. Down in the CIC Polymath ducked ever eight seconds as the ships hull roared around them. Lisa chuckled "You get used to it."

"Fuck me. What must it be like on deck? Wait, how are those quad forties manned?"

Lucy shrugged "Robots, the old guys bitched like hell but Taylor is a softy, doesn't want them hurt. Even though Amy could fix them right up again. Magnetic anomaly detection seems to work best."

Amanda added "I think its detecting gravity anomalies though, how the hell can he weigh that much? Ziz doesn't?"

Marquis and Lustrum, Still in battle two looked at the display of, well, power, as the shells howled away down range and then at each other. Danny chuckled, "Yeah, this is the mild stuff. Ziz talked them out of turning the ocean where they trapped him into aqua regia, or a whole bunch of other stuff trying to kill him. Using the black hole Bakuda built is still on the table as apparently that wouldn't kill him, just put him so far away he would likely not get back before the sun went nova and killed us all.

"She is apparently going to talk to him."

Lustrum snorted "That is going to be some 'talk'."

Gun Bunny

The world watched as tensions ratchetted upwards as the containment zone was built, aircraft and ships fled through planned gaps that were then closed and finally the Brockton Bay with her group sat in the last gap.

Emily looked at the screen and asked the question millions of other people were asking, wincing as another Fletcher was cut nearly in half by a jet of water. Not before getting its torpedoes away and all of its guns opening a withering fire on Leviathan backed up by its now eight remaining sisters and Brockton Bay. Taylor got a direct hit with about sixty percent of a main battery salvo of TNB AP and Leviathan sailed away hitting the water and rolling like a rag doll for a couple of miles. "Why doesn't she close the fucking gap."

One of the battle captains highlighted a icon inside the containment zone "A Swedish submarine, disabled, severely damaged. Ziz is pulling it to the gap with her telepathy. It would have sunk with all hands otherwise. Probably ten more minutes. The media have picked up the story, they are using snitches and the embeds are in the CIC and on the bridge.

Gun Bunny

"Captain, I already told you, we are not leaving anyone. Get the flooding stopped and your pumps running, package your casualties. As soon as you get pumped out we are putting you on the fantail and closing this gap."

"While I, and my men, appreciate what you are trying to do Majesty, we are not important enough to miss a chance to contain this monster. Close the gap. You will find a way to get our remains out and return them to our families."

Taylor snorted "Lord save me from Martyrs. Do what I told you too Captain. Oh and brace, I'm sending another squadron of Fletcher's in with hedgehogs, depth charges and and torpedoes."

Gun Bunny

His guards watched him closely. Glenn Chambers snorted "Gun Bunny, what else could she do. You boys should relax." One of the troopers cleared her throat. "Sorry, you troopers." He smiled at the nod he got. "Hey what song do you think?"

The female trooper shrugged "They did a bunch of Shakira songs when the Sao Paulo and her group stood out to sea. The school bands showed up and got into one giant band, the choirs, or glee clubs, got in on the act, all up that last hillside at the Harbor mouth, they've done Nothing at All, everything Britney Spears has ever done, some really sad stuff when we lose Fletchers. I'll be Missing You, nearly made Sarge cry."

"Watch your mouth Williams, send you to Mannheim."

The other troopers moved like they were chuckling. The Sergeant added "They've done some Metallica, Enter Sandman."

Another trooper nodded "Like a touchdown song, every time they get a good shot in on him."

One of the biggest troopers offered "They do 'Let the Bodies Hit the Floor' when he gets a shot in on the Bay. They want a kill."

Glenn nodded "'Nothing Else Matters' Would be good for their return to port. Come on, lets go make a suggestion."

The Sergeant looked around then shrugged, they hadn't been told he had to stay here, they just had to watch him.

Gun Bunny

The whole town, and the tourist, who had refused to be evacuated, watched the screens around town frozen, in terror really, as the Leviathan picked himself up slowly at the end of his skid and turned his baleful gaze on the Brockton Bay. "Well fuck, Here we go. Fletchers dump and run." Taylor pushed the left joystick forward to the stop. "Hang on everyone."

She skidded the ship left and right just enough to uncover all the guns except the stern five inch and with the right joystick opened a nearly continuous barrage with nearly all the rounds on target. He only managed to dodge a few. Conversely she only managed to dodge probably half of the hammer blows he sent at the Brockton Bay.

Ziz announced "Done!"

Just as Taylor managed to hit Leviathan with everything she had and send him, despite his obvious near maximum effort, tumbling ass over tea kettle as the ship clawed its way up out of the pit in the water he had been digging. There was a small break in the constant hammer of the guns then another swerve and the guns fired with a different sound. More of a thump than the flat, mind blanking, crack of hyper velocity shots. everyone watched as the shimmering curtain closed in on them and exhaled explosively when it snapped closed, probably scraping the name off the stern.

"OK People lets get the Sub up and get a DC part on it. Get a DC party onto the Fletchers and then them rigged for towing. I'll fix the Brockton Bay."

Katherine nodded "We'll get some patrols back out too."

Taylor nodded. Vicky nodded as well "Yeah, that felt too easy, he could have gone that hard for the whole fight."

Everyone looked at Ziz who nodded "Affirmation."

Lisa's sigh came over the squawk box "So that backs up what we were thinking. The little fucker is up to something."

Rachel tossed out "Not so little."

Taylor looked around the ship out the port in the armored conning station Rachel was looking through "Crap. Come on Ziz we got some work to do."

Gun Bunny

The rest of the world was celebrating, a bit cautiously, as no one had confirmed Leviathan was trapped with a direct observation yet. The North East coast of America was a little more jubilant than other places. They had survived a near encounter with Leviathan and other than a strangely high tide in Boston things were, normal, really. The disappointment that the fleet was staying out was palpable though, and put a bit of a damper on everyone.

Weld was walking along one of his favorite routes, the Charleston Navy Yard harbor walk. He had just left the actual walk and walked out onto pier 6, his favorite spot to look at the harbor and listen to some tunes. He reached the end of the peer and relaxed a bit. The PRT and Protectorate were still tense, but Gun Bunny was bringing the fleet home now. They had recovered and repaired enough at sea that none of the boats were under tow and they were making good time. They would be docked by morning.

Of course the crowds had only grown, turning Brockton Bay into an all night vigil sort of, and Boston into mostly a ghost town. At least of normal people. Supposedly the entry portals into Brockton bay had a line that it was taking hours to get through even with the PRT and Protectorate only leaving a skeleton crew here in town.

Weld looked out over the harbor thinking of the patrols they would need to run. He glanced up as the water fell onto him. The sky was clear? What- He turned and looked into the four asymmetrical eyes of Leviathan. "Respect."

Weld grabbed his head which had the image of a shovel in it suddenly, a razor sharp shovel. "Dude! Uh, we haven't even met in person yet. Wait, She's your sister?"

"Pretty."

"Uh yeah Dude, beautiful from the pictures I have seen."

"Pictures?"

"Uh no Dude, nothing like that. Pictures on the web."

"Internet is for porn!"

"Oh Shit!" Weld managed as he was tackled off the end of the pier.

Gun Bunny

Taylor stood back up from where the sonic boom, multiple sonic booms, had driven her to crouch. She heard Dragons voice over the loudspeakers "Weld down CB 1."

"Fuck, my life. Willy!"

"Gassed up and ready to go boss, talker, tell the CIC we are launching a strike."

"Get Rune up and in the air too Willy."

"On it boss, let's go people get the strike package ready!"

Gun Bunny

Weld blinked when something hit the Leviathan so hard the water around him turned to steam. He dropped into the muck at the bottomed of the harbor and looked around to get his bearings. The water rushed back in and he started walking toward the pier, There was a ladder here somewhere he remembered. He might have to climb a bit first though. Pretty certain it didnt go all the way to the bottom. Good thing he didn't need to breath really. Well to talk, but he wasn't doing that under water anyway.

Gun Bunny

Taylor blinked and twisted the A 10 into a diving left turn then snapped it up and around and pulled off a long burst into Leviathan disrupting the water jet he was fleeing on. Ziz hit him going about Mach five million and Taylor fought to keep the plane under control and in one piece. She turned to follow the fight. "Rune?"

"Nearly there Gun Bunny."

"Thanks Rune, Bitch?"

"Water Dog, they fetch in the water."

"First Leviathan, then his girlfriend having a shrieking bitch fit, and beating the hell out of her brother, and now a labrosaurus getting him out of the harbor. You know I don't see how this could go wrong at all."

"I'll explain it to him Gun Bunny."

"Oh thanks Ryu, that's certainly going to make it better, electricity is always so helpful.

"Ziz, honey, stop shrieking, use your words, nobody can understand you when you are just screaming."

"Idiot!"

Taylor shook her head "OK, well the whole world understood that.

"Squealer how we doing on Lorraine getting out here for some family counseling?"

"She is getting on a Fletcher. Might be bereavement though. Pull some of thise shots Babe. Ziz is smacking him into set ups for you. Lethal set ups."

"And we want him alive why exactly?"

"Data."

"Oh fine, Behemoth I assume. Fuck now I got a nosebleed, how the fuck do you guys do that?"

"Apology."

"And now my nose is not bleeding. Fuck, my life. Amy pack a bag, we get done with this shit we are going somewhere tropical, you know what never mind. We don't need clothes to lay on the beach."

Amy came up laughing "Open channel Babe. Sure though, now that you have told the world, take me somewhere we can lay around naked. I'm sure your dad will write you a note for school."

"Hold that thought." Everyone heard the BRRRRRRRRRRRRRT "Haha you fucker! Throw a swimming pool of water at me bitch!

"OK I'm back, Bakuda if I tiny these time returner rounds I can cut a hole in the containment? Ziz is headed that way with intent, looks like brother is going in a time out after all."

Bakuda keyed up her radio "It should, not enough to make it all go away, then you can either lob a time stop bomb in the hole or overlap a zone with the GAU to cover the hole."

"Blackie got him. He says he is fine."

"And thank you Bitch, How do you feel about an island in the sun."

"Sand in your pants."

"No pants."

"Cool."

"Gun Bunny honey, next time I expect good looking Navy boys not a ghost ship jumping from wave top to wave top. I wasted this whole outfit. Pencil skirt, silk blouse, and do me peep toes. I had the ones at the dock drooling." Lorraine had apparently found the radio.

"I can show you the world! Shining, shimmering, splendid!" BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRT "Maverick!" SHHHHHHH BOOM! "A whole new world!"

"Yay! Again." They all heard Ziz say.

Amy face palmed when everyone looked at her. Colonel Lindt patted her on the back "She is getting better?"

General Smith nodded "Very much so."

The Marshal chimed in "Nice beach in Cuba, ice cold vodka, I'll set it all up."

General smith nodded "Some very nice beaches in Australia as well." The liaisons got in a huddle over which beaches, Brazil were not slow to get their votes in either.

Gun Bunny

Meredith looked out of her conferenced in screen "Gun Bunny may need some down time."

Emily snorted "Welcome to Brockton Bay Chief Director, we all need downtime."


	32. Chapter 32

Gun Bunny 32

"You got this Carl."

Carl Sagan, no relation, looked at his music teacher. He had won the solo, by virtue of this being his favorite piece of music and having picked it out on his guitar until his fingers bled since he got his first six string. The auditions behind the stage with guitars plugged into amps that went to headphones all the music teachers were wearing had gone late. Carl didn't mind, it gave him something to take his mind off the fight, he could still see it projected onto the sides of buildings everywhere you looked but he had something else to think about. Until the drummers started their auditions anyway. Then, well he got back in the guitar section and played his heart out with the drum majors alternating leading the combined bands.

It might have not done any good but he liked to think Battery Lordsport could feel the support.

Then the damaged fletchers and the submarine had come in. It was corny, maybe inappropriate, but it felt right and Carl had stepped out an struck the opening bars of 'Born in the USA'. The Drum Major had turned to look at him with tears in her eyes, and then brought the rest of the bands in. The choirs and glee clubs had joined, then the locals, but they had changed it to Born in Brockton Bay. Hundreds of thousands of voices had roared the song, not singing, roaring in defiance, as the five wrecked Fletchers and one submarine were shepherded into the dry dock that had birthed the mighty CSN Brockton Bay.

One of the drummers broke into "Don't Tread on Me" and Carl led the guitars in. Not so many knew that one but by the second time through the crowd roared it too.

After that the Sao Paulo and her group was spotted and the drum lines took over. It was like Rio at carnival time with the whistles from the drum Majors and the drum lines pounding away for fifteen or twenty minutes.

Finally, as dawn was breaking the Brockton Bay and the remaining Fletchers in her group appeared with the sun rising behind them and Carl broke into his solo. The Choir came in, faltering a bit looking at the still, well, healing, damage and then gathering themselves and delivering the lyrics loud and clear. "Nothing Else Matters' rolled across the crowd.

Taylor, Amy, Rachel and Ziz, wings spread in triumph, standing in the bows as the Brockton Bay steamed in in her usual jet ski hulked out style smiled, and the crowd joined in the song. The song finished, Carl struck the first notes of the obligatory anthem and Brockton Bay slid into her mooring to the dying verses of "Take my Breath Away".

Carl slumped. He was suddenly exhausted. Gun Bunny had smiled though. Not wryly or tremulously, a giant smile. And she had looked right at him!

Gun Bunny

Emily sat slumped in her seat. The video conference was off now. Finally. She sighed and roused herself. The battle captains had this. Time to get a little sleep. She looked at the screen in the operations room and smiled as Gun Bunny, Panacea, Hellhound, and Ziz disappeared through the hatch into the fire control tower. That was a parent, or several parents', problems. She looked at the images of the people on line with the DWU running soup kitchen kind of carts. They just wanted to get close to the Brockton Bay. Everyone knew the gangway was closed.

This afternoon would be soon enough to start analyzing the crazy world they now lived in. A world with an Endbringer living in a five hundred square mile aquarium and another being a barely teenage girl who might be trying to romance a Ward. Emily snorted. She needed a drink.

Gun Bunny

Director Armstrong grinned at Weld through the glass as he sat in the M/S confinement cell "So, not upset you are in here for forty-eight hours?"

Weld shook his head "No. Might be able to come up with some kind of reason to give her by then."

"Oh? I thought she might be interesting myself. Well not for me. She is spectacularly pretty though. And not made of, uh…."

Weld chuckled "Not a meat bag."

"Uh. Yes?"

"How would that even work though?"

"I did give you the talk."

"Gah!"

Director Armstrong chuckled "Maybe give it an honest chance."

Gun Bunny

"Can be!"

Amy blinked "So you can be fully functional." She grabbed Ziz's arm. "OK, so you can be. Wow. This is going to be interesting. Your kids are going to be wild. Wait, is Weld, uh,-" She trailed off looking at the huge grin on Ziz's face. "You just be careful young lady!"

Taylor flopped back on the bed converted from the couch and covered her eyes with her arm. Rachel rolled half onto her. Ziz pinked up and went down to battle two. Danny met her there and took her down to Taylors cabin on the main deck. Then he and Sherrel headed to her apartment. "We have to keep it down. The other girls are already heading to the Battery."

Danny blinked "Me? You are the one who likes to give instructions." Sherrel just grinned.

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at Taylor's disgruntled face in the morning and chuckled, then laughed, then roared with laughter. When he finally sat up and wiped the tears from his eyes he looked at the flat look on Taylors face and said "Welcome to my world."

"Gah!" Taylor threw her hands up in the air.

Danny grinned "Is she on the pill?"

"You think you're funny."

"No, seriously Taylor. Not sure if Endbringer years are different than human years, but she appeared fully formed, and basically naked what, nine years ago? I had to accept that at a certain age certain things were going to happen, not at nine though. You were still running around with a blanket tied around your neck being Doctor Curly Hair half the time. Hey, she was a villain too! Not much of one come to think of it, kinda like you now, but a tinker."

"I couldn't be happier with Amy and Rachel, but I got lucky and your mom raised you smart about that stuff. This life is hard enough without those kinds of surprises."

Taylor sighed "She isn't even anatomically correct unless she wants to be. Then, well, Weld is metal. Her lube is going to have to be like ninety weight or something."

"Lalalalala!" Danny had fingers in both his ears.

"Hey you started it! And I think I am an excellent villain!"

"How is a PRT associate a villain?" Danny asked with his fingers still in his ears.

Sherrel walked in to Danny with his fingers in his ears and Taylor glaring at him "Jesus fucking Christ. I'll call Lorraine."

Gun Bunny

Emily joined the conference call and waited until the Chief Director arched a brow at her "Ziz dating a Ward seems to have absorbed the Battery's attention. They loaned us some ships to get out to the containment zones, there are three destroyer squadrons on guard duty, and another pulling duty ferrying passengers out to the containment, for a nominal fee, billed to the Endbringer fund. Probably just barely making a profit. Another Squadron is taking tourist for rides to the containment zone, around in the area and then back to the docks. The trips are fully booked a week in advance at this point. They do whale watching on the way there and back. Leviathan got rid of the worlds whaling fleet as we all know. The fletcher's sort of surface from the bay a squadron at a time as needed. Hard to tell whether it's the Simurgh, Gun Bunny, or both together somehow. They only weight two thousand tons or so and the squadrons are five ships so its in Gun Bunny's new range of ten thousand plus tons at a time.

"Several locations have been suggested for spring break by the allies, extended by adding the remaining weather days for the schools to it. It looks like it will be two weeks, and a trip, by ship, to all the suggested locations. Sort of a summer cruise."

Armstrong nodded. The New Director for Madison asked "Ziz controlling the weather?"

Director Sanders from Santa Fe spoke up "Well, we know now they have been sandbagging. Gun Bunny has matched them escalation for escalation though, exceeded really, since she has apparently coopted them, Bakuda, most of the other capes in Brockton Bay as well. Ziz seems to be concentrating on Boston. If she is controlling the weather, I don't know what Gun Bunny could do to match that."

"A black hole." Emily supplied. "It was in the planned sequence day before yesterday. They took it out at Ziz's request, or left it to last."

Director Sanders blinked "That would do it."

Meredith dropped her bombshell "Legend and Alexandria have informed me they have Eidolon. He is unconscious, they are unsure he will recover. They would like to move him to Brockton Bay for Panacea to look at him. Emily sat back smiling, not even having to object as the other sixty four directors were all apparently going to object for her. They brought up valid points. One of them being the close proximity of two of the three victims of his power, or whatever they were.

When the fracas died down, every Director getting his or her objection on the record, Emily asked "He isn't on this planet is he. They did something and have him on one of the alternate earths. Hmm, Gun Bunny wants to go be a little girl naked in the sand. I think some synergy could be achieved here. Perhaps they could stop by to check him while they were in transit to a nice world with a nice beach and no people?"

Meredith was crowing inside. Piggot was so getting a big fat fucking bonus. She hadn't even had to broach the idea; it came from the Director in the region just to the left of landfall of the category seven hurricane that was the PRT and Protectorate right now. Fucking Contessa, step that path off bitch.

Director Piggot nodded to acknowledge the smile she was getting "There will, of course, be the matter of his trial, perhaps the same type of arrangement could be made. A Tribunal could go to him instead of bringing him to them, assuming of course he can be contained to whatever planet he is on. Perhaps Battery Lordsport could be contracted to provide security?"

Meredith blinked. Oh you clever bitch you get to make Battery Lordsport even more of a threat, your region won't even need the PRT or Protectorate if you pull this off. Well in the plan it was a write off anyway. Hmm, this needed some thought and maybe discussion though. "Perhaps, Maybe in cooperation with the PRT and Protectorate."

Krinkle, from the PRT North Central shook his head "Maybe better to let us get distance from that whole thing."

Meredith nodded "It will have to be discussed at National Command levels."

Gun Bunny

"Sir, as the charming expression goes "I may have been born in the dark, however it was not last night'. I will be advising Her Majesty that this is not something she should do."

Bill Hoel looked at Enrico Sanchez and chuckled "Neither was my nephew, born last night, he however may allow this. It would in fact remove any taint from the trial. Gun Bunny is apolitical."

Enrico shrugged "I must relay this development to my government."

General Smith, Colonel Lindstrom, and the Marshal all nodded. The Marshal tossed in "Perhaps it is time to focus some assets on watching the watchers. There is something dead in this PRT woodpile. It smells."

The Command Master Chief standing behind the Admiral nodded. The officers moved on to other topics. "So, the schedule for the summer break, and this spring break." Colonel Lindstrom turned the page in the notes before her over.

Gun Bunny

"What are you doing Taylor?"

"Figuring a route and sailing times. General Smith wants us to hit the British Virgin Islands, a fellow Common Wealth country, The American Virgin Islands are right there with them. That would be a pretty quick sail actually. Seventeen hundred miles. Couple of days if we loafed along. Maybe stop in Puerto Rico. They still want a few turrets. Lots of islands."

Amy grinned "And this email from Sir Richard Branson giving us Necker island to ourselves for those two weeks is just a coincidence."

Rachel looked up from the laptop she was looking at "Nice beach, private."

Amy rolled her eyes "Fine, you should offer spaces to people though. These islands look like they can support tourist, its what they used to do." Amy was looking at her own laptop. "BB and a couple of squadrons of Fletcher's. Say five thousand people all together."

Lisa looked up "Chaperones or family groups. Offer it to the high school age kids first."

Taylor nodded "Then a summer cruise with stops in Brazil and Australia, We can go through the canal. It still works. We can fix it if it doesn't. BB is old Panamax. I don't know if they got the new parts finished. We will have to check."

Sherrel nodded "We could use the transporter pads and people could come and go as they wanted. Not have to do the whole cruise." Lisa was typing at about a hundred and forty words a minute and just nodded as the plan came together.

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at the email "Well there is that plan shot in the ass. They aren't going to guard him if they are doing cruises."

Paul Renick shrugged "It wasn't like it was going to be her personally sitting outside his cell. More Battery Lordsport. It is still worth asking."

Emily nodded "Meanwhile, lets get the Wards, Miss Militia, Battery, and a couple of PRT squads booked."

"Not Assault?"

Emily growled "Yes, I suppose him too."

Gun Bunny

Bill Hoel looked at the email and sent one to his chief of staff. Show of force cruises were old hat to the Navy. Coordinating with the allied forces would be the long pole in the tent as always.

Gun Bunny

Director Armstrong read the email and smirked. He surfed over to the site and signed up his Wards and three of his protectorate parahumans along with three PRT squads.

Gun Bunny

Mary looked at Elizabeth the financial analyst "So Branson gave her Necker Island for two weeks to get an oar in. He plans to take these plans this Norwegian Company, Royal Caribbean, he has controlling interest in, and get Gun Bunny and the Battery yards to build him this monstrosity. An Oasis class cruse liner, the biggest cruise liner ever built. Six thousand paying guest."

Beth nodded "He actually laid his plan out in the annual report. Gun Bunny has the only yard still functional that isn't working on, or committed totally, to Navy work.

"Even if she just did five thousand tons of it a week it would be built faster than any other yard could get it done. With Ziz helping, it would probably be built in a month, all two hundred fifty thousand tons of it.

"Branson thinks the market is ready for cruises now. With the Brockton Bay Aquarium holding it looks like he is right. Worldwide companies are scrambling to get yards up and running.

"Branson waxed lyrical about Gun Bunny tech being green as well so we think he means to pay BL Tech for fuel, consumables, and waste processing. Bakuda and Squealer have done amazing work. Now with Ziz on board, well if they took that company public their IPO would be higher than Apples current share price."

Natalie chuckled "Necker Island, all the way to Anegada, in front of that beach, is a females only zone and is going to be patrolled by about a hundred Fletchers Ziz will be running, along with how ever many ships the allies can find female crew for. How does he plan to talk to her? The Island has a capacity of thirty-four guest, so just Battery Lordsport and maybe New Wave. The staff is already all women."

"Most international business is done via email and teleconference right now. There is a facility on the island. International firms hire representation in other countries. There is some speculation of that changing now as the Endbringers aren't an impediment anymore. Branson already owns one of the only international airlines still flying." Beth shrugged.

Jimmy tapped his chin "I'll have to see about water proof makeup. We going trimmed or bare?" Hector and Clive groaned.

Gun Bunny

Danny looked at the plan "Chuck will lose his mind. This thing will take up the whole dry dock."

"Float out."

Danny nodded at Ziz then arched a brow as the rest of that information dense answer processed "In a week? A floating hull in a week?"

"Scrap."

Danny blinked "Uh you left the war graves right? You didn't pull them back to the bay?" He shook his head. Ziz had pulled all the sunken ships she could reach to the bay, was pulling them all rather. Her reach was apparently worldwide. The lawyers would be in the admiralty courts for a hundred years.

Taylor smiled at her "Good job Ziz. That plus the scrap on land and we can probably knock out a floating hull quick. I want the girls to go over these plans some more too. We can probably do much better than this."

Lucy nodded "For one we can make it two hulls, both neopanamax and able to sail the canal separately then reconnect when they are out of it and that could either be a sundeck or a STOL/VTOL field."

Amanda added "Or tie more together and do our 'city at sea' thing. Hydraulics in the motion dampers can run generators."

"How the hell are we going to cost this out so we know how much to charge?" Danny asked.

"Existing technology."

Danny looked at Ziz "You sure honey? All of this already exist and isn't tinker tech?" He blinked when Taylor, Ziz, and Lisa all nodded. He didn't see Sherrel behind him beaming for that 'honey' he called Ziz. "You know, some of those wrecks could have valuable stuff in them. Don't just eat them Taylor. Lets get that stuff on shore and evaluate it."

"I don't eat them Dad. I kind of dissolve them and take the stuff I need." Taylor looked up and sighed at all the girls grinning at her. "Fine, I won't eat them."

Danny nodded "And guarding Eidolon? You realize this is so the PRT can distance themselves right?"

"Bad Dad!"

Taylor patted Ziz's back "Yeah, but they let people get away who weren't as powerful. We are still doing it."

Danny looked around at all the determined faces. "Mark has some plans. You girls need to go over them. The Lawyers are still working on that friend of the court brief will all the stuff you gave them Ziz." Ziz smirked.


	33. Chapter 33

Gun Bunny 33

Taylor looked at the plans "Seriously. They want to build a canal, with locks, to lift a Brockton Bay class to the top of Baxter Peak?"

Danny chuckled "They aren't the only ones. Every State wants one and they have all contracted Gully and her group to come do the earth moving. Sherrel has, or is, building them things to build the canals and locks. Well, with Big Rigs crew. First though, we are building you four more BB class capable dry docks. Between you and Ziz you can fill them faster than we can outfit and test ships."

Taylor nodded and tapped another plan "And they want to name it Maine? But it's a heavy cruiser?"

Bill Hoel chuckled "It's in your fleet Taylor."

"Da, you pick the standards for names." Natalya nodded.

"Baxter then. If they can get it done." Taylor nodded.

The others turned to look at the completely full dry dock. Full of the Virgin Queen. Sherrel shook her head "And the Virgin Gun Bunny and Virgin Panacea?"

"Ziz works twenty four seven. Apparently my power does too. If it wasn't for testing they would be out and linked up already. The Coasties only have so many inspectors though. They will be ready in time. Apparently big brother is moving the necessary metals and minerals in front of thing one and two. We're getting about two thousand tons an hour of raw material. After that mine and Ziz's power just has a party.

"Had to build lift." Taylor shrugged. Everyone turned and looked at the gigantic thirty story crane that was a tourist attraction in its own right now. In Pink. With its brothers in light blue assembling themselves, or growing maybe, next to the holes where the excavations for the dry docks had started. Piers, or yards really, between them, a total of six were possible. One giant crane serving two dry docks. Two of them together using the horseshoe shaped tracks could lift a BB Class, an Iowa class even.

Sherrel chuckled "And get a leash snapped on Branson. I thought we were going to have to have him arrested. He was all over you."

Taylor looked around "He isn't back is he? Amy plans to turn him into something. A sea slug maybe."

Bill laughed "If the Chiefs don't catch him first. The Navy has brought in all our inspection teams too. They are training up some of the folks here. That school is a gold mine for the Navy. In five years, you will be drowning in qualified inspectors if they don't move on to somewhere else."

Taylor turned to the next plan "Meanwhile, every two hundred and fifty miles someone is digging a channel and putting locks to the highest ground available in. They do know turrets would be cheaper right? Essentially they are going to have eight ships land locked."

Danny nodded "Selling power, fresh water, Steam if there is a need nearby."

Taylor sighed. "And the Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands will be the only ones actually in the water. Though they really only need one."

Bill chuckled "And you are going to end up with a fleet of sixty or so of them."

Taylor sighed.

Gun Bunny

Justine sat at the lunch table "How does Sir Richard get crews up in two days? I mean Ziz, so I get how the boats are getting built. Hey once you and Amy…you know, do they have to change the names?"

Taylor moaned while Amy blinked then roared laughing. "I am so close to done with today. Good thing its only the rest of the week then spring break."

Justine waved her off "Never mind that, Lustrum and Marquis huh?"

Amy sobered at lightspeed "Wut?"

Justine grinned "Out at Claude's last night."

It was Taylors turn to laugh, or at least grin at Amy's chagrinned face. Amy snapped "They were just out for dinner. My god, don't people have anything else to do?"

Justine shook her head "Nope. Now, the connecting platform things for the city at sea. Are those going to be ready?"

Lucy frowned "No, well yes but they want them tested in a variety of sea states before we use them with paying passengers. So, while the fixtures will be in place the actual platforms won't be mounted or connected. I think this is them sneaking in sea trials on us too. Well on Sir Richard. He is working with Lloyds. A bit incestuous as he is a name as well but there you are. Their inspectors are coming in tonight. Of course, Sir Richard is famous for pushing the envelope so we may get to mount two sets and connect them yet."

Amanda shrugged "Ziz did the test on those Fletchers. Ten of them all rafted together. Its even more stable than we thought it would be or the models predicted."

"Food." Rachel supplied.

Taylor nodded "Sir Richard is fully provisioning all the ships going. No way could we descend on the islands on the route with twelve thousand guest and they feed them all. They are shaking out crews for all the ships the rest of the week. Apparently, I have hired, or Sir Richard has hired, every 'hotel staff' crew person and ships master in the Americas. Most of the ones from anywhere near an airport he can land planes at too. Amy is tuning up guys who are in their nineties and hundreds eight hours a day in the clinic. Like after Australia, except in a building. It's a fucking zoo. I will be so glad to get to the island."

Vicky nodded "And the guard shifts?"

Amanda spoke up "At least one member of Battery Lordsport, including New Wave, a Protectorate member, A platoon of Marines, and Army troops, and a PRT strike team on eight-hour shifts. They are building a building around Eidolon. More of a cell slash courthouse really. The DWU is doing the building to plans we looked at."

Amy nodded "He, well, there is no reason for him to be unconscious. I think he just shut down and is autonomic functions. He will deteriorate unless myself or other healers keep checking him."

Vicky nodded "Mom says non compos mentis fits this to a tee. The classical definition. From what Ziz says he didn't even know his power was doing it. Its apparently going to redefine parahuman law. Once they render a verdict that sticks, if he wakes up and goes to trial."

Justine nodded "Meanwhile he had a huge bank balance, it's been put in management and is paying reparations as fast as it can. Apparently, there are planets where being a parahuman isn't controlled by laws like here on Bet. Word is the management took the money, or things it bought with the money off planet and is making lots of money trading for stuff we need here. A parahuman called Number Man is running it."

Dennis snorted "Well that's a black eye. He is the one who does banking for villains."

Dean shook his head "Not just villains. He set up the Wards trust. Nepea five makes other banks not want to deal with us. At least here in the US. Other places aren't so bad."

Carlos nodded "Speaking of which, the PRT is looking for volunteers to go to Switzerland and get them stood back up and functioning."

Taylor nodded "NATO is working on it too. Natalya said the Russians are going to help as well, them and their allies. Busy spring."

Amy snorted "Yeah. Though it does take some pressure off of us and our spring break trip."

Chris came up from Heidi's monopolization of his attention "Sure. Having two five thousand paying customer ships chasing you, on your battle cruiser loaded with fifteen hundred Wards, Protectorate members and PRT senior officers will be so restful."

Taylor glared at him while Heidi pecked him on the cheek. Then hunched her shoulders at all the looks including those from teachers. Heidi tried a distraction plan "Where is Ziz?"

Taylor eyed her but tossed her a bone "Testing again."

"Socialization evaluation." Rachel supplied and got hugs from Taylor and Amy. Rachel was not happy with Ziz out of her sight.

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at the screen and grinned. Meredith, well and truly trapped as Rebecca Costa Brown now, glared at her. "So, Branson brought his billions to bare and is actually going to pull this off."

Emily nodded "It appears so. Armsmaster and Dragon are going over the boats with fine toothed tinker tech instruments."

"And the repairs or rebuilds on the City State Navy and its allies' ships?" Meredith arched a brow.

"Admiral Hoel assures me the ships and crews are ready to go. Including a new dozen PT Boats, all of those in the close escort having been total losses. Ziz pulled them back to the yard as scrap so no net loss besides effort on her and Gun Bunny's part."

"And this report of the material, useful material, the miner tinker tech is bringing in showing an exponential increase. It's Behemoth helping?"

"Well its coming from somewhere, so they either both struck pockets of exactly the materials needed in the proportions Gun Bunny uses them in in her alloys or its him. Our, your, you are closer to them, thinkers say he is somehow feeding them the material. In nearly its finished state, they are mostly just transporting it allegedly. Apparently, that relieves some of the stresses in the tectonic plates. After Leviathan gets out of his time out we are going to have to plan the evacuations and let him make the significant adjustments." Emily supplied.

Meredith nodded, then shook her head "After the Geologist, Volcanologist, Tinkers, and Thinkers look over what he had to say. As dictated into a air gapped supercomputer, at terabytes a second, by Ziz. So in forty or fifty years.

"Meanwhile, Gun Bunny gets to take her trip and lay on the beach naked."

"No big change, those suits they lay out on the foredeck in aren't much." Emily shrugged.

"Ziz is a cheating cheater who cheats. No one is that hot, or tans to that golden brown in one session." Meredith griped.

Emily laughed "Sent Clockblocker to therapy. Not to change from a happy subject, Clockblocker desperately needing therapy after all but, we are just going to let her join the Battery?"

Meredith shrugged "Gun Bunny might be able to stop her, we certainly can't. Plus all three of them are now doing everything we ask them to. Even Leviathan, working his hydro kinesis worldwide from his tank. They were seriously sandbagging. With the TNB rounds and chaff we might slow them down. Gun bunny can drop a meteorite of the stuff on them at interstellar velocity. Which would probably cause an extinction level event."

"Interesting how that was pointed out on PHO nearly immediately. Not in the tin foil hat forums either." Emily essayed.

"It wasn't us, if that is your concern. Apparently, the Lazy Dog in Australia got people thinking. As it turns out, since she is essentially her own fire control, well, every time one of those guns hits a target it just makes them surer." Meredith replied.

Gun Bunny

Heidi looked at the new and improved platform "And it is that strong how do I put my runes on it?"

Ziz handed her a stylus "Sharp."

Heidi looked at Chris who was nearly dancing looking covetously at the stylus. She sighed "Well come on then. Test flight."

Vicky smirked "So that's what we are calling it now." Rune flipped her hood up and Vicky an over the shoulder bird. Vicky looked at her phone "I'm up for guard duty with Aunt Sarah. Check on Amy at the Clinic once in a while Taylor." Taylor nodded and Vicky flew off to get to the rendezvous for transport, however the Protectorate was making those doors, or having them made.

Taylor huffed as she flew off "Like I wasn't going to." and turned back to the ship in the dry dock, the new ship, one every day. It was fairly impressive even to her. And her power was doing more than half of it all at this point. One of the chiefs flipped the plans to the plan they wanted her working on next.

Gun Bunny

Rachel watched from the middle of a fairly large pack of dogs. Flechete grinned at her "She will be fine. Weld is a great guy."

Rachel grunted "Not him I am worried about." She was watching Ziz. Who was, Rachel wasn't sure what? She wasn't boy crazy, as some of her foster parents had called it. She didn't look at the other males around. Plus, she had picked an alpha. Not as good ad Taylor or Amy, not as powerful, but they all couldn't be could they. Someone had to be on top of the pack. Even the greater pack. The species pack. Apex predators they called them in school. Apex was just another way to say Alpha right?

Not only that but Ziz wasn't quite like them, though she did look like them. Weld was the same. It could be good. "She will be fine." A fine pack leader.

Flechete looked at her "Did Ziz learn all that density from you? Come on. The patrol is moving on."

"Don't know why." Rachel had heard the old saw, the only tank in town is the best tank in town. Ziz was the M1A10 of Bet. One of three. Maybe the alpha of the three as she had pretty much kicked her brothers ass and made him show belly.

"There you go again. I'm to infer with Ziz and Gun bunny here and working together nothing is going to happen. People are still getting arrested."

"Police work. Always omegas."

Flechete looked at her and shook her head "It isn't a pack. Though the metaphors and labels work. That might be because the people that developed those labels are human." Rachel nodded and moved off. Flechete huffed.

Gun Bunny

Ryu looked at the crowd in the shrine precinct deep in Asia town. Three men knelt on the ground in front of her "You know, I just don't get it. You people have had to buy shares in the business that makes depends and still you continue. This time with girls from Boston, Hartford, everywhere. Tourist girls. So I think a different example is called for."

Johnny Syngh looked up defiantly "They volunteered! Came to me!"

Ryu nodded "Underage. They can't give consent. You should have taken them to child services. Or me." Scales, silver ones covered her suddenly.

A young woman leapt up in the prostrating crowd "He is a good pimp! I make sure the young ones are brought to you." The silver scaled oriental style dragon snapped its head to her. "My life as guarantee."

The crowd sat up. Or the older women did. Many of them tilted their heads. Then they turned to look at one of the members of their group. Who nodded slightly. Now it was RYus turn to tilt her head slightly. Then she snorted a little lightning and jerked her head. The young woman ran forward and grabbed Johnny. Ryu reverted to her human form "So no one to speak for you two. You, girl, your name."

"Achara great one."

Ryu almost snorted 'Pretty Angel'. Then she sighed. What had the world done to this girl someone had loved so much to name her that. The lightning flew thick and fast two bodies hit the ground in the boxer position. "Achara Syngh runs prostitution in Asia town. Johnny Syngh ensures it is truly a harmless activity. Talk to Lorraine Achara. Bring me these girls."

The crowd, all of them, prostrated themselves. Ryu walked away from the temple precincts. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. Now she had to visit a Nazi brothel. These tourist girls, what could they be thinking. She probably needed some of the others. This could turn into a fight.

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at her situation monitor and picked up her phone "Sit rep." She listened for a moment. "I'll be right there."

Moments later she arrived in operations and picked up a radio hand mike from a desk "Gun Bunny, Fury."

"Oh, hey Director. Just helping Ryu with some brothels. We already got Asia town, or Ryu did. These ones are the ones with the blond girls."

"And you decided the S tank was todays ride?"

"Keeps the idiocy down."

Emily nodded thoughtfully. It certainly would. It along with its three brothers, and the Australian Mech company with armored support. Oh, the Brazilian mech company and the A10s jostling the Apaches for a slice of the air space would probably help. "Not to be a cynic Gun Bunny, however, these people wont just quit on their own."

Gun Bunny replied "We know." Emily watched on the screen as Gun Bunny rode, standing, on top of the S tank.

"Normally we would discuss this with our liaisons." Emily offered.

"Well, that's sort of the problem. The law can't really put the fear of god in them." Gun Bunny replied. "Sorry about the parade by the way. I moved and everybody got excited. Oh, here is your joint patrol, Ziz and Bitch." Taylor said with a shrug in her voice.

Emily looked at the screen "Well that should do it. Do try to keep the body count down. Oh, don't let Ziz reprogram them either."

Gun Bunny

Max looked at the burner he had kept for, nostalgia, maybe. Old habits died hard. "Are you drunk? No, I am not rousing the empire to defend your whore houses." Kreig looked at him and blinked. "There is an Endbringer getting in an assault stack with two other S class threats and an A Class with a hundred fucking dogs who will be dinosaurs in a minute.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Underage girls. Well, you're an idiot, you deserve to die." He hung up and looked at Kreig who was nodding.


	34. Chapter 34

Gun Bunny 34

Rune circled, lazily to its passengers, a bit frenetically to those watching, on the new platform. "This thing is great. No idea how it can be this strong and this light."

Chris stopped looking at her in the shorty robes and cowl she was wearing and nodded "Gun Bunny alloy of Behemoth supplied metals is the assumption the thinkers are operating under." He replied distractedly, there were miles of very nice leg right there. It could be made of candy fluff and be nuke proof for all he cared. Admiring without being caught admiring was tough too.

Heidi nodded "Whatever, it's responsive as fuck. Some kind of inertial dampening going on for passengers as well. I mean, I'm pulling about four G in this orbit and it feels like nothing."

Chris nodded "Ziz."

One of the older wards, a female tinker from Arizona, Nicole, just shook her head "You hear stories and all, but they don't live up to the reality of how blasé you Brockton Bay people are. It really is a separate country.

"We ride around most of the day while Gun Bunny turns a mountain of metal that just appears next to the holes these people dug, usually on the highest point in the state, into three gun turrets with interlocking, mutually supporting, fields of fire, hundreds of miles apart and Ziz, the freaking Simurgh, connects them to the power grid.

"When we aren't doing that we are riding back and forth to a freaking battleship, that could probably be a Japanese space cartoon ship, and its combat group, escorting two ginormous ocean liners that are most of the time connected with platforms the size of two football fields in both length and width, which appear small between the ships, that have bars, beaches, beach bars even, and pools in them, that only weigh a third of what they should and make energy from differential motion of the ships. And are a giant party twenty four hours a day. Parents and all, half of the passengers are going to be pregnant.

"That camera dude is right, we're in wonderland."

Lucy shook her head from her chaise "Amy turned all their ovaries off for however much time until they are eighteen when she shook their hands. Fixed up any that needed it and cured any of seasickness by now too. Apparently there were some viruses that used to live on cruise ships, Amy wasn't having it so she did everyone, crew and all and the documentation people are working through charging their insurance or the state they are from. We are going to have to add a hospital ship once word of that gets out. In like tonight's news. Sir Richard is already working on it, getting staff for it, Virgin Comfort."

Amanda nodded along "This two day stop in the Bahamas lets us catch up with the turrets in the states. Then on to Puerto Rico and theirs, then the two large cruisers in the Virgin Islands and we are done. Well Cuba if they sign the agreements, but we can do that one on the way back. Meanwhile Amy heals everyone who walks up while Taylor builds turrets. Bet she does the same thing at the port calls."

Lucy frowned "We have the 'plagues' ready. We can drop them ahead of us so she can have some time off."

Ryu grunted "Glad I was pretty much in shape. That isn't nearly enough time to be nude beach ready."

Nicole, the Ward Tinker started "Hey! It's supposed to be only girls on that beach."

Ryu nodded "No boys to distract so a total judgement zone. I'm working on Gun Bunny over it. She wants to be a little girl naked in the sand though, and is a prude? Something, so we are stuck, at least for a few days."

Heidi shrugged "Rachel isn't going to tolerate a bunch of shit. Betas are enforcers."

"Another country with a pack instead of a government." Nicole nodded.

Lucy shrugged "Kind of along with really."

"And there it is, hang on, got to land to pick up the boss." Rune informed the platform full of Wards and Battery Lordsport as she spiraled down to the peak and its brand new nearly perfectly camouflaged turret and the crowd of people gaping at it.

Gun Bunny

Doctor Mother looked at Legend, he shrugged "Every cent of which she pours into some project that helps people. As does Panacea, and Squealer. Bakuda too actually. In the worst case getting them paying jobs wiping off dust in those turrets. As far as I know the things don't need maintenance aside from general cleaning. But they are all trained to operate the things if she doesn't. A hundred person crew, so fourteen hundred just in the turrets. Which provide power and fresh water for minimal fees, one percent above cost.

"While she wears hoodies and jeans, no makeup, does her own hair, cooks her own food, and lives in a modest house, and doesn't even own a car. Well, a surplus formerly junked Stryker, that they bought for its scrap value, and fixed.

Alexandria continued "Reliable power and enough for the whole eastern seaboard. Bringing back industry all up and down the coast. Shipping is ramping up. Fishing is as well. Oil prices are falling. As is the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Which we need to discuss with them as plants do need it after all."

Number man barked a laugh "Be prepared for a brain cramp when Ziz explains it's the monoxide she is taking rather than the dioxide with one of the one word answers. Or god forbid says 'Data' and gives you a nose bleed dumping your head full of it."

Legend nodded "Your job is waking up David now that the procedure for his trial is in place and it looks like he will be on permanent parole, or what amounts to work release, and 'his' entire fortune is used for reparations."

Number man nodded "Which Gun Bunny putting everyone back to work is helping us fund, as we are heavily invested in production facilities and farms around her turrets using all that power she is making. What Lorraine hasn't already bought up, no fair her having insider information, and starting months ago. And her school is training our best workers. We need to talk to her about putting in more of those."

Doctor Mother sighed "There is no reason, physical reason, for him to be unconscious. Even Panacea can't make him any healthier. It's a psychiatric problem."

Alexandria gave her a look "Find a way to fix it. We need to be getting on. Scion is still out there. We have no idea how he is reacting to any of this other than he isn't changing for now. Nor showing any interest. That could all change at any moment.

"Although between Bakuda, Squealer and Gun Bunny they might handle it, they will only do that locally. We know he is not very smart but he is supposedly the enforcer of the pair. If so, and if his intelligence is about fighting, he may not perceive them as a threat. He may wait until whatever trigger makes them conclude an operation. By then it might be too late for him if we keep working on a solution to him.

"Meanwhile, keep working on cleaning up the mess we made and finding a way to test new power sets without causing more mess. There is some interesting modeling and simulation capability out there and with the thinkers and tinkers we have access to now it could be used to substantially reduce the problems we had in the past."

Doctor Mother nodded "One question, Why Gun Bunny's people and not her specifically in the guard on David?"

Legend shrugged "Partly optics, political reasons. Mostly because they come with her weapons, which we understand means she is essentially there if one of them is. Not that I think it would be necessary but she stalemated the Endbringers."

Alexandria nodded "And the Simurgh listened to her in the middle of a fit of pique as large as possibly the universe had never seen before."

Contessa smiled "How is that going by the way?"

Legend snorted "Like a teen romance Disney wrote. It may get us all killed yet. I can't imagine she will just do bad things to Weld's pretty little souped up four wheel drive, if he even has one."

Gun Bunny

Clockblocker looked at Weld "Dude, she is super-hot, smart, parahuman, not squishy like the rest of us, I don't get your problem." The other male Wards on break from the meet and greet looked at Dennis. "What?"

Weld shook his head "Is a super super villain."

Dennis waved him off "When she was a slave."

The Wards leader from Los Angeles nodded "Not to agree with a guy that named himself Clockblocker trying to unblock something, but Alexandria. All those things Clockblocker said apply to her and supposedly she and Hero were a thing. Maybe why she is a cast titanium bitch now. Not like she doesn't have a string of bodies on her, and really once you are past the first one, does the number matter other than what type of court tries you? They aren't even bringing Ziz to trial. They are that sure she and the others were mastered. Kind of puts you Texas wards in an odd place."

Wrangler, the wards leader from Houston nodded "Master/Stranger testing once a day for one. It's the gun control thing if you ask me, except those guns can actually move around on their own. Out from control of that one though, well they pretty much only do good and fight Gun Bunny for fun. Her not even that, she hangs out with the other girls. When she isn't kicking her brothers ass for trying to give you the shovel talk."

Weld sighed "She is only nine."

Rain Maker, the female wards leader from New Mexico nodded "Yeah, OK. Testosterone arguments aside. Gun Control, wait until I tell the girls. That could be a little bit of a problem. But consider you are only four, five? I mean in this form. Plus you don't remember how old you were before whatever happened happened."

Clockblocker grinned "Cougar after you Weld."

Rain Maker arched a brow "As opposed to your apparent MILF fetish?"

"Hey! Uh, she doesn't have kids!"

"Idiot." The others nodded staring at Clockblocker who was getting glared at by Weld.

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked at the smirk on Ziz's face "Not even going to ask."

Amy nodded sitting between Taylors legs on the teak, or a towel on the teak rather. "So tomorrow we look at the pen you are going to build the boats in." Ziz pouted a bit. They all smiled at her.

"Long Bay. And temporary yard. We'll see. Ferry comes in and out through there so it might be too crowded. I think they want me to do it where tourist can watch."

Willy shrugged "Better take video. It's like magic now, calm, then boom, turret. So three booms and ship?"

Taylor eyed her "Where did you get a khaki bikini, and is that regulation? Or is it three sizes to small?"

"As long as I shave all the way up?"

"That's it, you can't hang out in the goat locker anymore." Willy just gave Tylor a look. Taylor sighed, Chiefs, what were you going to do? Willy would make everyone's life hell, or her sailors would. "Fine, but you have to go to counseling."

Willy nodded "Aye Aye Captain." She already had counseling once a week. Where the hell the PRT had gotten all these freaking shrinks was anyone's guess.

Gun Bunny

Marquis looked at Danny standing on the wing of battle two looking at the girls on the bow. "So we don't say anything?"

Lustrum laughed. Danny nodded "Unless of course you would like to see what they do?"

"And when the Fairy Queen shows up? I mean the Endbringers are dealt with. She is going to want a certain sort of behavior." Marquis said.

Lustrum chuckled "She better get over herself. Ziz will squish Ciarra like a bug if she acts up. Rachel will have a dinosaur eat her. Besides, aren't they her peers? We really don't know how she will act around two 'Queens' as she calls them, as she is the only one she has ever mentioned before Taylor and Amy?

"I'm more worried about her bringing her 'court'. The legal system is already overloaded. Introducing all those cases to it might break it. Then people will be stupid and fall back on stupidity."

"And that's with Bill Hoel talking to his nephews and cousins." Danny nodded.

Marquis chuckled "And his girlfriend the Secretary of State."

"Amazing anything gets done with that whole retinue traveling with us." Lustrum declared.

Danny shook his head "Hoping it settles down a bit really. I mean we are done with the Endbringers, or with Taylor trying her damnedest to kill one. I think.

"Meanwhile the Navy is amazed at Taylors open ocean performance, not chasing the lubbers line or some other nautical crap all the time.

"Anyway, I'm hoping we can get back to improving the bay and then expanding."

Marquis laughed "Where have you been. You are already expanding. Or GB industries is, you control power generation, shipping, mining, fuel production, all kinds of fuel, including that for humans and animals. Not much left for you to expand into, Grow maybe though."

Lustrum shook her head "You are both forgetting the power of people to be idiots. There will always be some kind of idiot to take on. If we get unlucky one could match the girls in power someday."

"I was hoping Ziz might warn us actually." Danny replied

"We can't count on just that though." Lustrum countered with Marquis nodding along.

Danny changed the subject "So you two…."

Lustrum grinned at Marquis blush "Are being adults."

"Oh boy." Danny chuckled. Marquis shot him a glare.

They all looked at the noise from inside Battle two as Natalie and Mary got set up for the days piece remoted live from the Brockton Bay. Apparently the staple of the infotainment network now, the other imbeds were on the other ships, with a Brazilian crew on the Sao Paulo, who normally waxed a bit lyrical about what their escort had gotten up to today. The PT boats were like frisky puppies. The destroyers weren't immune to chasing tuna or marlin either. Some kind of sport fish was on the menu every day when they shallow depth charged a school of fish of some kind. After checking where the subs had gotten off too, and that there were no whales or dolphins near enough to get hurt. Both of them loved whales. They played with dolphins. The cooks had had to get inventive a couple of times when giant white sharks had shown up in the days haul, or pieces of them. White sharks should avoid attacking baby whales. Shark steak, shark fin soup, the livers were apparently worth big money, unless they wanted practice torpedoes chasing them until they ran out of fuel. Which was never apparently. Schools of the things zoomed by occasionally. Those were practice right? Danny pinched the bridge of his nose. He would have to ask Taylor.

The Brazilian pilots were good at getting the action on gun camera. Poor fucking sharks looked confused, then, well, field dressed. How were those torpedoes deploying those nets they used to pick up the pieces after?

All that was aside from the deliveries, coming in daily through transport rings from the fish farms, that were full to bursting, as the trash heaps grew faster than the refinery could melt the plastic down. It was amazing how much stuff this many boats ran over at a steady thirty knots.

Wait a minute, why is Natalie talking about ocean gyres?

Gun Bunny

"Oh it was a problem from before the Endbringers apparently. Lots of trash dumping. Plus people are idiots. A lot of that stuff is neutrally buoyant, some positive even, so eventually the conveyor current swept it all into these things they call gyres. Giant whirlpool things out in the oceans. It was easy to build a thing with a ring. Kind of a giant funnel really. Taylor built me the hull, Ziz and I did some tinkering and sent them out a couple weeks ago. They must have gotten into the gyres finally. Slow. Big ass funnel with a prop jet at the narrow end, hydroplanes for control surfaces, so what could you expect really. Twenty knots maybe.

"Hey wait a minute that one in the pacific couldn't have gotten there that fast." Sherrel frowned after mostly answering Danny's question with the whole large wardroom frozen listening.

"Two likes the cleaners." Ziz supplied.

"Levi helped? Nice." Taylor said after swallowing. Ziz nodded while everyone not Battery Lordsport and or a parahuman teenage female, female Ward, or Sherrel displayed nearly every possible expression of shock or curiosity. Not least at the full sentence from Ziz.

Vicky looked around "We talked about it at PT weeks ago?"

Deputy Director Sutherland, from Cincinnati, sighed "Well at least I am female so can get in that PT session. Ladies you know no adult males attend most of those, no males period, if you aren't pole dancing and embarrassing the male Wards." Now the girls looked first thoughtful then surprised.

The Marshal chuckled. She did attend PT. Especially since Amy had spent an hour and three five gallon buckets of material tsking and retuning her. Say something she thought was not right about Amy and Taylor and see what a sniper with four hundred bodies on her looked like. The only other people who had seen that look would discuss it with you, wherever you went in the afterlife, the ones who weren't surprised you saw it because they never had anyway.

Natalie nodded "Where do you think we do the shooting schedule."

Clockblocker waved the flag for the males "Uh you do it on the Virgin Queens out here? How do we get there?"

Taylor frowned. Sherrel shrugged "Transport rings work. Or we could raft at PT time. I can do a gangway. They have the lap pools if we want to use them. Well the pools with the jets you swim against."

"Da, is good exercise." Bill arched a brow at the Marshal being Russian. She spoke perfect English. And was capable of American, when she wanted to be, or was drinking.

Clockblocker face palmed "That's how all those girls end up here for laying out."

"Turret roofs are great, so they say." Lucy nodded.

Danny nodded "OK, back to my point, you are overrunning the refinery's capability Taylor. It's piling up."

Bakuda shrugged "Get the legal eagles to buy the refinery on St Croix, it's mostly shut down and what isn't is broken mostly. It has gone through a bunch of sales. The government was resisting it being reopened because of pollution.

"I got some plans I've been tinking. It won't even smell. All of that is waste, smell, heat, all of that. No spills because of the rings, no boats, a ring on the refinery output and a ring on a pipeline, even our pipeline terminal, plus the cleaners Sherrel made me. I can make it like ours, people don't even know its running now.

"We can knock the plans out as soon as the purchase happens. The pooper scoopers can be modified to pick oil off the sea floor, billions of barrels from blown out well heads, leaking pipelines, and sunken tankers all over the world, plus natural seeps. We can build a couple, or Two can just move the oil to the refinery if we put an open intake offshore and tell him where it is? We have to do water separation anyway.

"The propulsion screens are already sending a lot to our refinery. As much as we can sell, even through the pipelines we have fixed. That pig works great." Mary and the researchers were typing madly into lap tops.

Ziz grinned "Done."

Ann Sutherland face palmed "And now the former owners have to go into M/S screening."

"No." Everyone got an image of Gulf Oil celebrating at unloading that dog of a forty year old refinery for the price of a twenty year old one. Slightly more than they had paid actually. Real money. The stock swap was crap and everyone knew it. They had agreed on the first phone call and price mentioned. Well, once the call had gotten to the first vice president with the authority to sell it.

Mary cackled and Natalie grinned "Oh man, Suicide watch for that guy. After the news tonight. Or in the morning rather."

Taylor had taken the laptop from Bakuda and had her head tilted to the side "Wow, this is interesting."

Amy looked, then sighed "Steward, please bring Taylor a cow, or a couple of those blue fin. That would be even better. The big fat ones, and some shark liver, like four hundred pounds. That must be a million tons of really exotic metals Babe." Taylor wrinkled her nose. Shark liver was horrible, no matter how they cooked it.

Ryu leaned over and whispered in Amy's ear "She is going to be fertile as a bunny if you feed her that. You better check her ovaries are off every time you kiss her. She'll snatch up your genetic material and you'll be pregnant too by the time she gets her tongue out of your mouth." Amy looked skeptical and then noticed every Asian in the room looking at her and Ryu. Crap maybe not the shark liver then. Hmm, the oil? Crap now she had to research.


	35. Chapter 35

Gun Bunny 35

"OK, you can bite now." Brutus yipped around the enormous great white's head he had in his mouth and bit down, then shook it like it was a rabbit he caught when Amy backed off. Ziz conferred with Amy and Rachel watched the enormous dogs playing with the shark to make sure they didn't roll in it.

Taylor smiled watching the whole production on the gang plank. A football field sized gangplank with two one-way traffic lanes wide enough for standardized pallets and fork trucks as well as foot traffic, the rest was space for experiments and laying out. Oh and a sand volleyball court, pool, bar, all the amenities. They were a couple hours out of San Juan. She had not originally intended to go into San Juan, but apparently Brockton Bay was going to the Army Terminal there, while the cruise ships put in at the Cruise ship terminal. Why those still existed was anyone's guess but the Army Corps of engineers had been diligently working for years in Puerto Rico turning it into the most modern Island in the Caribbean. A poke in the eye for Cuba maybe. The Navy had been helping as they used the facilities to support Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and its Marine base. Politics who knew? So anyway, the docents had a selection of ships and boats going in, and tours were already arranged? Of the cruise ships too. How this wasn't going to be a disaster was beyond her.

Taylor smiled thinking of Cuba. The Marshal had arranged a stop for them, and she had gotten to spend the day naked on the beach. Rachel had loved it. Amy had too. Even with all the bitching about having to adjust them hourly to keep them from being burnt to a crisp. Even after oiling them both and Ziz putting up those cover things that looked like giant airplane wings and made electricity somehow, then connecting them to the Cuban grid.

Pretty serious all over tan now though. Plus some Cuban friends. Nice girls. Exhausted after hosting five thousand female guest but nice. Taylor had the torpedoes herd them some fish. Like Nuevitas Bay full. Ziz put up some nets to keep them in. And the predators separated from the...hmm, were fish that didn't eat fish herbivores? Whatever. Not physical nets but some kind of device. If they were careful they should never need to go hungry, at least for protein, ever again. Just feed the fish once in a while and don't over harvest the sections. They had left them a manual.

Vodka, even ice cold, was deadly in the heat. Relaxing, but deadly. Of course the Marshal drank all day laying out in the sun getting red as a lobster. Amy had fixed her though. She was funny as fuck too. 'One time in Stalingrad, in the tractor factory, I made this sniper hunter the Nazi's brought in show me his papers. He did not have the correct travel permit so, I shot him.' Somehow most of her stories ended with 'so, I shot him'. She and Taylor had spent some time plinking targets Ziz was moving around. The Marshal was an amazing shot even with a liter of vodka on board. Give her a three line Mosin Nagant and PU optic and watch her fly. She loved the one Taylor made for her, she got tears. Taylor made it permanent.

With Amy having her on the ten thousand horsepower boiler running fifty tons of Navy special a day, or the equivalent in consumed BTUs, they were well past calories as a measure, diet plan in the lead up to doing the refinery, well doing it from range now after a quick flyby for a look at the site, everybody had drank, eaten, played, and danced from like nine in the morning until deep in the night. Cuban girls partied hard! Then all the PT boats had nosed into the beach, all six dozen of them, and they waved goodbye. They would have to stop by on the way home. Those boats had been crowded, even just the ones running out to the destroyers' just offshore and back, need a few more for that, or a LCI, something. Oh! LCACs! Those were fucking cool and they could work on them, probably get three or four hundred knots out of them with some tweaks! Maybe the mini gun phalanxes too.

Amy's head snapped up and she shot Taylor and Ziz, who were now standing together with their foreheads nearly touching, looking at a computer, a suspicious glare. Then the interesting shark drug her tinker's attention away. Vicky watched and giggled. Crystal sighed "Laugh it up funny girl. They are both neck deep in different things, you know who has to do the work after they make some powers bullshit happen? We do."

Vicky grinned and pointed "Unless Ziz bats her eyes at Weld and gets the Ward boys to do it."

"Which is crazy, or obscene, or something. How does a nine year old talk a five year old into things, without talking?"

"I never figured it out either." Both girls jumped and Sarah chuckled "What are the mad scientist up to now?"

Crystal sighed "Mom! Well Amy is working on sharks trying to figure out if what Ryu told her is true, about the fertility thing, and Taylor and Ziz have just had a lightbulb moment about something. Some kind of boat from the hand motions. It will be cool. An offshore cigarette boat being too much to hope for, it will be insanely overpowered, have a shitload of guns, and go faster than is safe no doubt. And of course be measure forty five or whatever and only pretty in a guns are sexy kind of way. Bauhaus? Function is beauty?"

Vicky nodded "And be loud, don't forget the loud. It's like Taylor is a boy. Except hers go as fast as how much noise they make, not like those four banger Hondas with the fart cans."

"Except in the water where they have to have the torpedoes out running around to warn off the whales and dolphins because the boats are holes in the ocean apparently" Crystal added.

Sarah blinked "So that's why that started? Oh, I'm supposed to ask, those are practice right? They have those arms, and the nets, and things, so they aren't war shots right?"

Vicky blinked "Well they don't have to have fuel tanks or air bottles so that space was available, they got rings on the air, fuel and exhaust lines, plus Taylor, Sherrel, and now Ziz worked them over. Then Bakuda did the warheads so, uh, no. Real deal."

Sarah sighed "And when we are in port? Where do they go?"

"In the harbor near the PTs and DDs? Barley positive so they kind of barely float near their boats." Vicky shrugged "Ziz runs them when Taylor isn't. Something about supercavitating and mach speed underwater. Apparently they are just sort of playing when they are around the fleet. If they get serious we will know? Noise probably. She likes to keep a few swimming around Levis tank."

Sarah sighed "Siblings, why can you never get along when you're young?"

Crystal snorted and Vicky goggled at her "Like you and mom did?"

"Never mind. So no flights today? Just being lazy?"

"Yep, after your training watch, whatever crazy experiment somebody comes up with, PT, a little hand to hand with Ziz, or someone who can kick your ass. Whatever Lorraine has us doing for schoolwork. Doing your tour guarding the zombie that used to be Eidolon. Yep. Just lazing around watching ten thousand kids traipse back and forth and making sure Willy's crew of reprobates have them under control and is keeping them to the public spaces on the Bay. Some of those tinkers need leashes." Sarah looked at Crystal nodding along with Vicky and laughed.

Gun Bunny

Taylor looked at the factions arguing, shrugged and made the turret. Ziz got to work hooking it up to power. Amy looked at her "You don't even have to be here anymore do you?"

Taylor shrugged "Optics, blah blah blah. Justine would have a baby hippo if I didn't show."

Amy grinned "Baby hippos are so cute!"

Taylor doubling over laughing offended both sides of the crowd of dignitaries. The Secretary of State shook her head. Puerto Rican politics were a study all of their own. They had a desk just for this protectorate, as did the CIA. Place was even crazier than most. Politically. People were great, right up until they got elected they trundled along being great people. Then they dived in the corruption pool or something. Must be the weather that kept them from having capes running out their ass. Life's a beach right?

Bill Hoel looked at her and snorted "Better put on your work face."

She sighed "Yes, I had."

Gun Bunny

Kayden smiled at Theo sitting in the sand, the four inch deep, dry, sand, on the gangplank, the enormous gangplank connecting Brockton Bay to the Virgin Queens. Talking to one of Gun Bunny's girls. She grinned, who had walked right up and just taken him over. He hadn't even needed Aster for bait. She looked at Aster asleep in her buggy, her tinker tech, air conditioned, UV shielding, hover buggy. All in some kind of camouflage pattern and with BB 001 on the back side of it. Squealer wasn't having the old buggy. Then Bakuda had gotten in on it, they had Gun Bunny make it out of a pile of stuff they brought her. Asters buggy and umbrella stroller were in their stateroom. This one followed her around like a well trained dog. Bitch had been in on it too, apparently. That tiny little turret on it was worryingly alert.

Hmm, that might be a Ward rather than a member of Battery Lordsport. She didn't have an earpiece. Kayden had thought all those girls needing hearing aids with Panacea right there was odd. Justine had told her they were communicators when she asked. With Bluetooth somehow? So no wonder none of Battery Lordsport ever looked at their phones like normal teenage girls. They were getting the information from and to their phones all the time somehow.

She looked around. The girls at least were much more relaxed around each other. Passengers and crew of the Bay. Nothing like a few hours naked on a beach together? "Kayden?"

"Yes Theo?"

"Do you need my help with Aster? Chantel wants to do the tour of the Bay?"

Kayden looked at the girl "Hmm, uh, no. Go have fun, just not too much." She grinned as Theo stuttered, blushing, while being dragged away by the hand. Kayden watched them go thoughtfully. Good thing Max was head down in trying to survive. Theo bringing home a black girl was probably going to get him killed if he freaked over the 'look' of it. That was a Gun Bunny ladies special in that thigh holster Chantel was wearing. You could tell from the color of the metal.

Kayden watched Bitch bring a young dog over. She had the dog sniff Aster, then Kayden, then the spot where Theo had been sitting. Then she looked at the dog and it lay down next to the stroller. She nodded, looked at Ziz, who nodded, and they turned and led the pack away. "One of Battery Lordsport then, or a family member. Well, well, well."

Battery sat on the lounge next to her and handed her a cold beer "Let's see if you thinks it's so well after Piggot gets through interrogating you over it."

Gun Bunny

Taylor sighed "OK, one more day, and we will do a port call on the way back. Only one day though. It looks like the Cubans are going to sign the agreements. The ships can stay here and we can take Runes ride to wherever we are putting it."

Katherine made some notes and looked at the Chief. He nodded "Make them happy, Thought we were going to have a riot there for a while. Supposedly the cruise ships are the same way. That's Branson's problem though."

The Marshal nodded "Good we have staterooms. Apparently the chicken coops in the Virgin Islands are being rented out. Those Islands may sink."

Admiral Hoel nodded "Which brings up the next point. The Adjutant General of Puerto Rico has informed me it's going to be a national holiday when you leave port, apparently there is already a tradition of going to the Virgin Islands on holidays, it is only a few miles after all, so most of the people here who own boats are probably going to be somewhere in the islands."

Taylor sighed "We already agreed to put on bottoms for announced periods each day and let the boys on the beach so we can drop the screen during those times. Tops are up to the girls."

Madalyn nodded "Last but not least, there is a request from the Governor of the British Virgin Islands that we lease space on the destroyers, some of those chicken coops are, well, he doesn't want the already struggling tourist industry getting a black eye just when it looks like you might revive the whole thing. They will put anyone who rented a facility they determine to be below their somewhat low standards on a destroyer each night."

Taylor looked at a chart "In Road Town? Fat Hog, little shallow, PTs there maybe. One per family? Supposedly some of those bays on the eastern side are a little rolly. Cane Garden for sure. Destroyers are going to roll a lot if they are."

Madalyn nodded "I'll get some people working on which anchorages."

Taylor nodded "I'll get Yarrow working on a list of chiefs for the boats and we will figure out some kind of dinner service. It'll be pretty basic."

Danny shook his head "Probably don't need to go that far. Maybe a continental breakfast, but they will probably eat ashore. At least I bet the governor hopes they do."

Gun Bunny

Chantel rolled her eyes "Yes a white boy. Didn't you see him hanging near his foster mom and taking care of his baby sister?"

Her sister Ruby, one of the Lady Merchants sighed "That's Theo Anders, his dad, Max Anders is Kaiser."

Chantel grinned "Well I got him over that. Not hard really." Ruby arched a brow, Chantel grinned wider "Not hard unless it was supposed to be."

Ruby shook her head "I got to talk to Squealer, do fucking not get pregnant by Theo Anders until I get this sorted out."

"Panacea turned us off remember. You and Theo, both worry warts. It isn't supposed to be hard work getting a little, supposed to be boy, girl, bang. Plus I need to work on his conditioning."

Ruby snorted "At least somebody is worrying. I may like him."

Gun Bunny

Emily looked at the ENE chaperone group on the video link "Barracks theft, that's it? I expected Sodom and Gomora, so did everyone else."

"And Willy, along with some appointed temporary Chiefs, not always the ward leaders, handle it or take the perpetrators to Gun Bunny who runs a Captains Mast, they get put on some pretty nasty details, one got confinement for a couple of days and missed a liberty in the Bahamas. This ship has a brig Eidolon couldn't escape from." Miss Militia said.

Battery nodded "The cruise ships, well you might get invited to leave, or worst case they call Gun Bunny and she handles police type things. They seem to be preempting things fairly often. If something is headed toward criminal one of the Officers or Chiefs appear in the area and or we somehow find ourselves in the area, we the Protectorate and senior PRT leadership. It has to be the Simurgh and the Battery Lordsport thinkers doing it. It is pretty subtle though."

Deputy Director Sutherland, who was present because the whole thing originating from ENE she had a dotted line relationship with ENE nodded "We are looking at the CIC, they have a section running internal ops, and it has a liaison from all the ships. If someone doesn't magically find themselves in the area they direct the internal security forces onto the incidents, or emergent incidents. Plus people mostly seem to be on their best, if somewhat more adventurous, behavior."

Emily snorted and Meredith laughed outright, she being on the call as well, Emily nodded "A hundred incidents of people being caught in compromising positions a day. And that's without those boats having broom closets. And all of those are consensual. The thinkers think the boats themselves are ensuring it. Like Gun Bunny's weapons ensuring things around them are, well, above board, if not always strictly legal in their vicinity.

"Purity, your stepson is involved with a Lady Merchant Dependent suddenly."

Purity bristled a bit and then snorted "More like is being involved with her. He doesn't really, uh, well, he never dated before. Chantel is pretty aggressive. Ruby did come talk to me as Chantel had never dated before either. Then this. Chantel is running with it though. Poor Theo, he is a bit bewildered. We are watching."

"Kaiser will lose his mind." Emily pinched the bridge of her nose.

Purity shrugged "I doubt it, he was never a believer, and it was a way to get followers. Now he has discovered he doesn't need them and is trying pretty hard to stay off Gun Bunny's radar. He may go the opposite direction. I can see him now, giving Theo training in how to keep Chantel. That will drive Theo right over the edge.

"My concern is the rank and file of the Empire may react badly. The Lady Merchants and Battery Lordsport will not be pleased."

Emily nodded "I'll get in a trainload of depends, hedge against the local supply being exhausted when Ryu hits the ceiling and electrocutes the whole Empire at once."

Miss Militia smiled "OB unscented tampons too, great for plugging bullet and dinodog teeth holes. We could make next year's budget."

Meredith arched a brow "Something we need to discuss ENE? Black marketing medical supplies perhaps?"

Gun Bunny

Taylor sat on the towel on the beach wriggling her toes in the foot trench she had dug with her feet. The sky was completely clear, the sun was beaming, the rum, pain killers, number twos, were fabulous. Amy looked at her and smiled. Then she looked at Rachel who had connected her foot trench to Taylors and was just as happy. They had left Necker on the platform and gone to Anegada and Cow Wreck beach on the platform during boy time. With the parents, as the bartenders had gotten wise, or were wise already. And they still wouldn't sell you more than two before they went virgin on you. That meant Taylor and Rachel had to wear bikinis, which they did, of the thinnest material and as little as was comfortable, much to the chagrin of wives and girlfriends all over the beach. Amy preened a bit. Her girlfriends' slayed motherfuckers dead. Or the coconut trees and that embankment they tumbled down tried to.

They hadn't had to leave Necker really, all of them would happily sit around topless with the boys on the beach like some of the other girls but the boys seemed more comfortable. Amazing what four square inches of really thin, brightly colored cloth could accomplish. Taylor nodded, she got it. She really did. Boobs were hypnotizing. Even her own some times. It was tough not staring. Sunglasses were a blessing.

"Happy." Amy asked them both.

Rachel nodded and Taylor replied "Very. Even when we are working now."

Amy reached out and pulled them both closer "Me too."

The Bartender glared at the tourist who had whipped out a cell phone "Unless you are done drinking that better be a call."


End file.
